Banking Act
(Chapter 19, SECTIONS4A, 4B, 30(1)(d), 32(5), 33(2)(d), 35(1) and (2)(e), 47(10) and 78(1) and (3))
Rg 5
G.N. No. S 347/2001
REVISED EDITION 2004
(30th September 2004)
[18th July 2001]
PART I
PRELIMINARY
Citation
1.These Regulations may be cited as the Banking Regulations.
Definitions
2.In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—
“Accounting Standards” has the same meaning as in section4(1) of the Companies Act (Cap. 50);
[S 170/2006 wef 24/03/2006]
[Deleted by S 511/2019 wef 01/08/2019]
“credit derivative” means any swap, option or other financial derivative the purpose of which is to secure a profit or avoid a loss by reference to the performance by a third party of certain specified obligations or to the change in creditworthiness of the third party;
[Deleted by S 473/2021 wef 01/07/2021]
[Deleted by S 473/2021 wef 01/07/2021]
[Deleted by S 473/2021 wef 01/07/2021]
“fund management” has the same meaning as in PartII of the SecondSchedule to the Securities and Futures Act (Cap. 289);
[S 170/2006 wef 24/03/2006]
[Deleted by S 473/2021 wef 01/07/2021]
“group”, in relation to a corporation, means a group within the meaning of the Accounting Standards, of which the corporation is a part;
[S 170/2006 wef 24/03/2006]
“liabilities”, in relation to the policies of an
insurance fund maintained by an insurer, means such liabilities and expenses of the insurer as are attributable to the
business to which the insurance fund relates, but excludes any levy payable by that insurer under section 37 of the Deposit Insurance and Policy Owners’ Protection Schemes Act (Cap. 77B);
[S 473/2021 wef 01/07/2021]
“market day”, in relation to a share traded on a securities exchange, means any day which the securities exchange is open for trading;
[S 473/2021 wef 01/07/2021]
[Deleted by S 511/2019 wef 01/08/2019]
“NCD” means negotiable certificate of deposit;
“overseas bank” means a company incorporated, formed or established outside Singapore which carries on banking business only outside Singapore and is not licensed under the Act;
“place of booking”, in relation to a bond or an NCD issue, means the jurisdiction in which the branch or office of the issuer which is issuing the bond or NCD, as the case may be, is located;
“prohibited business” has the same meaning as in section32(7) of the Act;
“property corporation” means any body corporate where—
| (a) | more than 50% of the total turnover of the body corporate is derived from property-related activities; or |
| (b) | more than 50% of the total assets of the body corporate comprises interests in or rights over immovable property situate in Singapore, other than such immovable property or any part thereof which is used—| (i) | as premises for the conduct of any business carried on by the body corporate; | | (ii) | for the business of a hotel, hostel, serviced apartment, boarding house, lodging house or dormitory; or [S 511/2019 wef 01/08/2019] | | (iii) | for community, charity or educational purposes; |
|
“property-related activities” means—
| (a) | the construction of or the causing of the construction of any building on, over or under land in Singapore for the purpose of sale by the person carrying out or causing such construction, of any right or interest in the land which would be appurtenant to such building, other than a building or part thereof constructed for use—| (i) | for the business of a hotel, hostel, serviced apartment, boarding house, lodging house or dormitory; or [S 511/2019 wef 01/08/2019] | | (ii) | for community, charity or educational purposes; |
|
| (b) | the acquisition or holding of any interest in or right over immovable property situate in Singapore for the purposes of rental, or for the purposes of securing a profit from its sale, other than such immovable property or part thereof—| (i) | used or to be used by the person acquiring or holding the immovable property for occupation by himself or any member of his family or as premises for any business carried on by him; [S 511/2019 wef 01/08/2019] | | (ii) | used or to be used for the business of a hotel, hostel, serviced apartment, boarding house, lodging house or dormitory; or [S 511/2019 wef 01/08/2019] | | (iii) | used or to be used for community, charity or educational purposes; |
|
| (c) | the financing of any activity referred to in paragraph(a) or (b); |
| (d) | the making of loans to any property corporation; |
| (e) | the acquisition or holding as beneficial owner of shares or debentures issued by any property corporation; and |
| (f) | the acquisition or holding as beneficial owner of debentures the payment of principal or interest on which is contingent, directly or indirectly, on the turnover, profits or cashflow from any activity under paragraph(a), (b), (c), (d) or (e); |
“property sector exposure”, in relation to a bank in Singapore, means the aggregate of—
| (a) | amounts outstanding to the bank under credit facilities granted to any property corporation or to any related corporation of a property corporation for use by the property corporation; |
| (b) | amounts outstanding to the bank under credit facilities granted to any person other than a property corporation—| (i) | in the case where such person is a corporation, for the purpose of financing or facilitating the property-related activities of that person or its related corporations; and | | (ii) | in any other case, for the purpose of financing or facilitating the property-related activities of that person; |
|
| (c) | amounts of debentures beneficially held by the bank and issued by any property corporation; |
| (d) | amounts of debentures beneficially held by the bank and issued by any person other than a property corporation, where the payment of principal or interest is contingent, whether in whole or in part, on the turnover, profits or cashflow from any property-related activity; |
| (e) | amounts paid by the bank for securities transferred to it pursuant to a repurchase transaction between the bank and a property corporation, on terms that require the future transfer of equivalent securities by the bank to the property corporation; |
| (f) | amounts of contingent liabilities incurred by the bank—| (i) | in respect of any obligation of a property corporation; or | | (ii) | in respect of any obligation of any other person, where such obligation is undertaken in connection with property-related activities; |
|
| (g) | where the bank has entered into any agreement (including a credit derivative agreement) with any other party under which the other party would secure a benefit or avoid a loss where there is—| (i) | a failure by a property corporation to perform its obligations; | | (ii) | a decline in the creditworthiness of a property corporation; or | | (iii) | a failure by any person other than a property corporation to perform its obligations where such obligations are undertaken in connection with property-related activities, |
the highest amount of such benefit or loss as may be secured or avoided, as the case may be, except to the extent that such amount constitutes part of any amounts under paragraph (f); and |
| (h) | amounts payable to the bank by any property corporation under a bill of exchange or promissory note, |
but does not include any amounts in respect of—
| (A) | credit facilities granted to the Government or to any statutory board; |
| (B) | Singapore Government Securities or bonds issued by any statutory board; |
| (C) | debentures held pursuant to an agreement entered into by the bank for the underwriting of an issue of such debentures, for a period not exceeding 8 weeks from the date of the launch of the issue; |
| (D) | loans, debentures or other assets forming the subject matter of a securitisation transaction where the criteria determined by the Authority for effecting a clean sale of assets by the bank have been complied with; or |
| (E) | any instrument or transaction described in paragraphs(a) to (h) to the extent that the bank would be indemnified or otherwise protected from losses that may be incurred by it under that instrument or transaction pursuant to a guarantee issued by any other bank or any credit derivative entered into by the bank with any person other than a property corporation; |
“Singapore Government Securities” means securities issued by the Government under any written law;
[Deleted by S 511/2019 wef 01/08/2019]
“total eligible assets”, in relation to a bank in Singapore, means the aggregate of—
| (a) | amounts outstanding to the bank under credit facilities granted to any person other than a bank or an overseas bank; |
| (b) | amounts of debentures beneficially held by the bank and issued by any other person who is not a bank or an overseas bank; |
| (c) | amounts paid by the bank for securities transferred to it pursuant to a repurchase transaction between the bank and any other party who is not a bank or an overseas bank, on terms that require the future transfer of equivalent securities by the bank to the other party; |
| (d) | amounts of contingent liabilities incurred by the bank—| (i) | in respect of any obligation of a property corporation; or | | (ii) | in respect of any obligation of any other person, where such obligation is undertaken in connection with property-related activities; |
|
| (e) | where the bank has entered into any agreement (including a credit derivative agreement) with any other party under which the other party would secure a benefit or avoid a loss where there is—| (i) | a failure by a property corporation to perform its obligations; | | (ii) | a decline in the creditworthiness of a property corporation; or | | (iii) | a failure by any person other than a property corporation to perform its obligations where such obligations are undertaken in connection with property-related activities, |
the highest amount of such benefit or loss as may be secured or avoided, as the case may be, except to the extent that such amount constitutes part of any amounts under paragraph (d); and |
| (f) | amounts payable to the bank by any person, other than a bank or an overseas bank, under a bill of exchange or promissory note, |
but does not include any amounts in respect of—
| (A) | in the case of a bank incorporated in Singapore, any instrument or transaction described in paragraphs(a) to (f) not forming part of the bank’s business in Singapore, except to the extent that such instrument or transaction forms part of the property sector exposure of the bank; or |
| (B) | in the case of a bank incorporated outside Singapore, any instrument or transaction described in paragraphs(a) to (f) not forming part of the bank’s business in Singapore. |
FAQs
No customer information, other than information relating to the following, may be disclosed: ( a) the customer's name and identity; (b) the amount of the debt outstanding on the customer's credit or charge card; (c) the date of suspension or cancellation of the customer's credit or charge card, as the case may be.
What is Section 47 of the banking Act in Singapore? ›
Section 47 of the Act provides that customer information shall not, in any way, be disclosed by a bank (holding a valid banking licence in Singapore or the branches and offices located within Singapore of such a bank incorporated outside Singapore) or its officers to any other person except as expressly provided in the ...
What is section 35 of the banking Regulatory Act Singapore? ›
The Bank's exposure to real estate in Singapore is regulated under Section 35 of the Banking Act which limits such exposure to not more than 35% of its total eligible loan assets.
How are banks regulated in Singapore? ›
Licensing and Authorisation
MAS regulates and supervises over 150 deposit-taking institutions in Singapore, including full banks, wholesale banks, merchant banks and finance companies. Credit card and charge card issuers in Singapore are governed by the Banking Act .
Do Singapore banks share information? ›
The Monetary Authority of Singapore said legislation which set out the legal basis and safeguards for such sharing also comes into effect on April 1. A centralised digital platform which enables banks to voluntarily share information with one another about suspicious customers was launched on April 1.
What is considered confidential information in banking? ›
“Confidential Information” includes Personal Data, information relating to the Bank's products and services and the terms and conditions on which they are provided, technology (including software, the form and format of reports and online computer screens), pricing information, internal policies, operational procedures ...
What is Section 32 of banking Regulation Act? ›
[(1) Where a banking company in any year furnishes its accounts and balance-sheet in accordance with the provisions of section 31, it shall at the same time send to the Registrar three copies of such accounts and balance-sheet and of the auditor's report, and where such copies are so sent, it shall not be necessary to ...
What is Section 31 of the banking law? ›
[(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, (26 of 1881) no person in 190[India] other than the Bank or, as expressly authorised by this Act, the Central Government shall make or issue any promissory note expressed to be payable to the bearer of the instrument.]
What is Section 63 of the Banking Ordinance? ›
§63(3A) of the Banking Ordinance allows the MA to require AIs to appoint auditors to report, normally once a year, on the adequacy of their systems of control over the compilation of banking returns or other information, compliance with certain statutory provisions in the Ordinance and, in the case of locally ...
What is Section 17 of the banking Regulation Act? ›
Reserve Fund--(1) Every banking company incorporated in India shall create a reserve fund and 2*** shall, out of the balance of profit of each year as disclosed in the profit and loss account prepared under section 29 and before any dividend is declared, transfer to the reserve fund a sum equivalent to not less than ...
[(1) A banking company shall not form any subsidiary company except a subsidiary company formed for one or more of the following purposes, namely:-(a)the undertaking of any business which, under clauses (a) to (o) of sub-section (1) of section 6, is permissible for a banking company to undertake, or(b)with the previous ...
What is Section 23 of the banking Regulation? ›
(1)Without obtaining the prior permission of the Reserve Bank- (a)no banking company shall open a new place of business in India or change otherwise than within the same city, town or village, the location of an existing place of business situated in India; and (b)no banking company incorporated in India shall open a ...
Who regulates banking in Singapore? ›
MAS is the integrated regulator and supervisor of financial institutions in Singapore. MAS establishes rules for financial institutions which are implemented through legislation, regulations, directions and notices.
Who are the bank regulators in Singapore? ›
The Monetary Authority of Singapore or (MAS), is the central bank and financial regulatory authority of Singapore.
What is MAS notice 637? ›
This notice applies to all locally-incorporated banks. It sets out: The capital adequacy ratio and leverage ratio requirements for a locally-incorporated bank and the methodology and process for calculating these ratios. Requirements for the internal capital adequacy assessment process of a locally-incorporated bank.
What are the laws for banking confidentiality? ›
The Right to Financial Privacy Act of 1978 protects the confidentiality of personal financial records by creating a statutory Fourth Amendment protection for bank records.
What are the privacy of customer information restrictions under the Singapore banking Act? ›
Section 47 states that customer information shall not in any way be disclosed by a bank in Singapore or any of its officers to any other person except as expressly provided in the Banking Act.
How does a bank ensure confidentiality? ›
Banks secure your transactions and personal information online using encryption software that converts the information into code that only your bank can read. Privacy policies and training. All banks have stringent privacy policies.
What is confidentiality of client information policy? ›
lawyer-client relationship of trust and prevents a lawyer from revealing the client's information even when not subjected to such compulsion. Thus, a lawyer may not reveal such information except with the informed consent* of the client or as authorized or required by the State Bar Act, these rules, or other law.
