S’pore’s banks wary of new regulation

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KUALA LUMPUR: Singapore’s banks cite their ability to successfully implement the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Notice 610 as their main concern for next year.

More than half of the banks surveyed identify the regulatory change as their top single concern for the year ahead according to a new survey by Wolters Kluwer’s Finance, Risk and Reporting business.

The survey asked more than 50 compliance, risk, finance and IT professionals at more than 25 banks in the country for their views on key challenges they face, a statement said.

The scope of new proposals in the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s overhaul of the MAS 610 reporting regime for banks has taken many in the sector by surprise.

The core set of returns that banks file to the MAS are being revised to require information at a far more granular level beginning next year.

In fact, the number of data elements that firms have to report will rise from about 4,000 to approximately 300,000.

“As this survey shows, regulatory reporting evidently boils down to two key challenges. Firstly, banks need to consider data management: obtaining the correct data in the required state for onward reporting.

“Subject matter expertise is the second concern: a deep understanding of MAS reporting requirements is vital,” said Director of Regulatory Reporting, APAC, for Wolters Kluwer’s Finance, Risk and Reporting business, WouterDelbaere. — Bernama