21 December 2001...Mr John Palmer, former Superintendent of Financial Institutions at the Canadian Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), will join the Monetary Authority of Singapore as Deputy Managing Director from 1 February 2002. Mr Palmer will oversee the regulation and supervision of the banking and insurance industries.
2 Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam had held the position of Deputy Managing Director (DMD) for Financial Supervision until he was made the Managing Director of MAS in April 2001. In recognition of the growth of our financial markets and the expanded scope of supervisory issues related to the financial sector, the position has since been divided into two, with one DMD responsible for the capital markets and another responsible for banking and insurance. Ms Yeo Lian Sim has assumed the role of DMD for capital markets since April 2001, in addition to having oversight of corporate resource management. The MAS is pleased to welcome Mr John Palmer as the DMD for banking and insurance. In this role, he will also oversee supervisory policy formulation and development of market infrastructure.
3 Mr Palmer served as the Superintendent of Financial Institutions at OSFI from 1994 to 2001. OSFI is responsible for the regulation and supervision of all of Canada's banks and deposit-taking institutions, insurance companies, and pension plans under federal jurisdiction. During his term, Mr Palmer introduced a new risk-based framework for the supervision of financial institutions in Canada. He also played an active role in the Canadian Government's reform of the financial sector, appearing regularly before the Canadian Parliament giving testimony on OSFI's activities and on financial sector matters.
4 Mr Palmer was one of the three Canadian representatives on the Financial Stability Forum (FSF) until his retirement in August this year. He chaired the Working Group on Offshore Financial Centres (OFCs) set up by the FSF in 1999 to consider the significance of OFCs for global financial stability. The Working Group set out a framework to identify international standards relevant to strengthening financial supervision in OFCs and incentives to encourage OFCs to adhere to these standards. This framework was endorsed by the FSF in March 2000 and is currently being implemented.
5 Prior to joining OSFI, Mr Palmer spent 28 years with KPMG and its predecessor firms, serving as Deputy Chairman and Managing Partner of KPMG (Canada) from 1989 to 1993. He brings to MAS extensive knowledge and experience in the financial regulation of banks and insurance companies.
6 With Mr Palmer's new appointment as Deputy Managing Director, Ms Teo Swee Lian will relinquish her oversight of the Insurance Department from 1 February 2002. She has assumed since 10 Dec 2001 responsibility for the Planning, Policy and Communications Department, and will continue to head the Financial Centre Development Department.
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Diana Koh
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Tel : (65) 6229 9104
Fax: (65) 6227 0705
Email: dkoh@mas.gov.sg
Rachel Tee
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Tel : (65) 6229 9923
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Email: racheltee@mas.gov.sg
Jacqueline Ong
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Tel : (65) 6229 9159
Fax: (65) 6227 0705
Email: jong@mas.gov.sg