Singapore, 29 November 2005...The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) today announced findings of its second External Perception Survey (EPS).  96% of MAS' stakeholders ^[1] rated MAS' overall performance positively with 62% rating us as "very good" or "excellent".

2   The 2005 EPS was conducted to assess stakeholders' perceptions of MAS' performance as a central bank, regulator and financial centre developer.  It measured MAS' effectiveness in carrying out our four core objectives of:

• Conducting monetary policy & macroeconomic surveillance
• Maintaining the stability of the financial system through effective supervision of the banking, insurance, securities & futures sectors, as well as the provision of prudential policy and specialised risk assessment
• Enhancing market conduct standards, competitiveness and efficiency in the interests of depositors, investors and policyholders
• Promoting and developing Singapore as an international financial centre

3   Stakeholders were also asked to rate their perceptions of MAS' overall performance and evaluate MAS against a set of general attributes and specific functions.

Key Survey Findings

4   Stakeholders dealing with MAS rated us well in terms of achieving our four core objectives.  Overall, MAS was perceived by stakeholders as being most effective in its role of conducting monetary policy to achieve sustained and non-inflationary economic growth.

5   With respect to our supervisory functions, 70% of the stakeholders rated MAS as "very good" and "excellent" in terms of ensuring effectiveness of regulation in promoting a stable financial system in Singapore.

6   In the area of market conduct, stakeholder feedback indicated that the greater challenge for MAS was in ensuring that consumers were sufficiently empowered to make well informed financial decisions.

7   Finally, respondents noted significant improvements in MAS' role in promoting Singapore as a financial services centre.  MAS' efforts in promoting the relocation of businesses to Singapore and its effectiveness in anticipating development opportunities by keeping pace with global trends were lauded by stakeholders.

8   Stakeholders were also asked to evaluate MAS against eleven general attributes.  Those with the highest rating were professionalism of dealings, overall competence of MAS officers and consultation efforts during policy development. 

9   Although MAS generally did well for our main functions and general attributes, there were also areas for improvement identified. These included timeliness of decision making and internal coordination between MAS departments.  Stakeholders also expressed a wish that MAS continue to improve the clarity of explanation provided when developing new policies affecting the financial services sector.

10   Mr Heng Swee Keat, Managing Director, MAS said, "MAS values its partnership with the industry and their feedback on our performance has been both valuable and encouraging.  Although we have improved in several areas as compared to the previous survey, we will continue to look closely into the areas identified for improvement and explore how we can strengthen some of our processes."

***

Notes to Editor:

Survey Background & Methodology

The 2005 EPS collected both qualitative (anecdotal) and quantitative feedback from Financial Institutions who deal directly with any of the following MAS departments:

• Economic Policy
• Banking Supervision
• Complex Institutions Supervision
• Prudential Policy
• Specialised Risk Supervision
• Insurance Supervision
• Securities & Futures Supervision
• Market & Business Conduct
• Financial Centre Development
   

Qualitative Phase: Focus Group Discussion

Seven sessions of focus group discussions were conducted between 8 March and 11 March 2005 involving stakeholders to gauge perceptions in relation to MAS, and to collect anecdotal feedback prior to the online quantitative survey.

Quantitative Phase: Online Survey

An online survey was conducted between 27 May and 15 June 2005. Based on a stakeholder population of 857, the survey yielded a sample of 462 valid responses, representing a response rate of 54%.

All stakeholders were invited to rate their perceptions of MAS' overall performance and its performance against its four core objectives. For MAS department specific functions, only the ratings of stakeholders who have direct dealings with the relevant MAS department overseeing that function were collected.

Research Company

The 2005 EPS was carried out by Blackbox Research on behalf of the MAS. Blackbox Research is a Singapore based research company. It has experience in both financial research and stakeholder studies across Asia Pacific.

***

¹