Singapore, 24 February 2003...The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) today issued a consultation paper on a set of proposed guidelines and regulations to enhance the existing corporate governance framework for locally incorporated banks and direct insurers.  The paper consists of two parts: (i) a set of guidelines on the principles of corporate governance and disclosure, and (ii) regulations on corporate governance.

2   The proposed guidelines are built upon the Code of Corporate Governance, issued by the Corporate Governance Committee in March 2001.  The Corporate Governance Committee was set up by the Ministry of Finance, MAS and the Attorney-General's Chambers to promote good corporate governance practices.  To safeguard the interests of depositors and policyholders, MAS has added or enhanced certain principles in the guidelines.

3   The key points to note in the regulations are:

• The proposed regulations define clearly what is meant by an independent director and set out the requirements for the composition of the board of directors and board committees, such as the Nominating Committee, Remuneration Committee and Audit Committee.  The Banking Regulations also incorporate the separation rules for the board and management as announced by MAS on 21 Jun 2000. 
  
• To help ensure appropriate oversight of the decision-making process, the proposed regulations also require the separation of the roles of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO)/Principal Officer and outline how this rule is to be applied.  Affected financial institutions are not required to revoke any appointment of its Chairman or CEO made before these Regulations come into effect or any subsequent reappointment of such Chairman or CEO in the same office.