Good Culture and Conduct

MAS and industry associations established steering groups to promote sound culture and strengthen standards of conduct for banks and insurers

MAS and industry associations collaborated to set up the Culture and Conduct Industry Steering Group for banks, and the Insurance Culture and Conduct Steering Committee for insurers, to strengthen (i) ethical business practices that safeguard customers’ interests and ensure fair treatment, and (ii) prudent risk-taking behaviour and robust risk management that support the financial institutions’ safety and soundness.

MAS published an information paper on observations on and supervisory expectations for private banking sales and advisory practices

MAS conducted thematic inspections on selected financial institutions operating in the private banking industry focusing on (i) governance by board and senior management, (ii) investment suitability, (iii) pricing controls and disclosures, and (iv) culture and conduct.

MAS published a second consultation paper on proposed guidelines on Individual Accountability and Conduct (IAC) aimed at strengthening accountability and standards of conduct across the financial industry

The IAC Guidelines aimed to strengthen accountability and standards of conduct across the financial industry. The second consultation paper proposed to extend the IAC Guidelines to all Singapore-based financial institutions regulated by MAS, by setting out how a risk-proportionate approach would be applied on smaller financial institutions with less than 20 staff members.