MAS Consults on Disclosure Requirements for Regulatory Capital

The draft on disclosure requirements for regulatory capital amends Part XI of the MAS Notice 637. The draft provisions in MAS Notice 637 on risk-based capital adequacy requirements take into account standards for public disclosure requirements in the consolidated Basel framework from the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. The public disclosure requirements set out in Part XI of the MAS Notice 637 complement the minimum capital requirements under Pillar 1 and the supervisory review process set out in Part X. The purpose of the requirements is to promote market discipline by requiring disclosures of key information relating to a reporting bank’s regulatory capital and risk exposures on a consistent and comparable basis. The amendments also summarized key disclosure requirements, including reporting format (either fixed or flexible), frequency of reporting (quarterly, semi-annually or annually), and implementation date.

Below are the details of additional key developments from MAS:

• MAS conducted thematic inspections on the AML and counter financing of terrorism (CFT) name screening frameworks and processes of selected financial institutions in 2021. Post this, MAS published a paper that sets out the supervisory expectations and good practices, areas for improvement, and illustrative examples observed from the inspections. Financial institutions should benchmark themselves against the supervisory expectations and good practices in the paper.
• In response to a parliamentary question, on evasion of sanctions using non-traditional forms of finance, MAS clarified that the financial measures imposed by the Singapore government in relation to Russia apply to all financial institutions in Singapore, including the digital payment token service providers, also known as “cryptocurrency” service providers. MAS requires all financial institutions to ensure compliance with these measures, regardless of whether transactions are facilitated using traditional financial channels, or through cryptocurrency exchanges or “decentralized finance” protocols. MAS will take appropriate regulatory actions against financial institutions found to have breached these financial measures.

Keywords: Asia Pacific, Singapore, Banking, Reporting, Basel, Regulatory Capital, Disclosures, Notice 637, Decentralized Finance, Crypto Service Providers, Crypto-Assets, MAS