MAS Enhances Financial Cooperation with Various Authorities
MAS is working on enhancing financial cooperation with China, Ghana, and Hungary. MAS also announced partnership with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to provide small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) with innovative financial and digital tools to help them better leverage data and more effectively access financing solutions. It will also create new opportunities for SMEs, including fintech firms, to expand to developing countries within the UNDP’s global network of 170 offices. UNDP and MAS will explore country-specific use cases in Africa to accelerate the adoption of digital finance by SMEs. "We are thrilled to partner with MAS to help prototype and scale innovative financial solutions across the developing world,” said Bradley Busetto, Director of the UNDP Global Center Singapore.
The following are the key highlights of developments in this area:
- MAS will work with Chinese central and provincial counterparts to broaden cooperation in green finance. In addition, MAS announced the award of a qualifying full bank license to China Construction Bank, under the China-Singapore Free Trade Agreement Upgrade Protocol.
- MAS and BOG, the central bank of Ghana, commenced discussions to adopt the Business sans Borders (BSB) open hub of platforms between Singapore and Ghana. These discussions on close cooperation will benefit the small and SMEs and micro-SMEs (MSMEs) in both countries by expanding their connectivity with their counterpart economy, while introducing innovative fintech and digital tools for SMEs. The SME Financial Trust Corridor (FTC), to be led by MAS and BOG, comprises a governance framework and a digital infrastructure, which banks and fintech companies in both countries could refer to and utilize when sharing key information relevant for credit assessment, while abiding by domestic and international regulations, such as data protection and anti-money laundering requirements.
- The cooperation agreement with Hungary sets out a framework for fintech collaboration between both countries. It will put in place a referral mechanism to help fintech firms access each other’s markets. MAS and MNB have also committed to exchange views on emerging market trends and developments in FinTech, as well as regulatory issues on financial services innovation.
Keywords: Europe, Asia Pacific, Hungary, Singapore, China, Ghana, Banking, SME, UNDP, Fintech, API Exchange, COVID-19, MNB, MAS
Featured Experts
Victor Calanog, Ph.D.
Leading economist; commercial real estate; performance forecasting, econometric infrastructure; data modeling; credit risk modeling; portfolio assessment; custom commercial real estate analysis; thought leader.
Previous Article
FCA Issues Statement for Firms Preparing for BRRD2 TranspositionRelated Articles
EBA Issues Erratum for Phase 2 Package of Reporting Framework 3.0
EBA published an erratum for the technical package on phase 2 of the reporting framework 3.0.
MAS Amends Notice on Related Party Transactions of Banks
MAS amended Notice 643A that addresses requirements for banks to prepare statements of exposures and credit facilities to related concerns or parties.
ECB Amends Guideline on Euro Short-Term Rate
ECB has published, in the Official Journal of the European Union, the Guideline 2021/565 on the euro short-term rate (€STR) and this guideline amends the previous ECB Guideline 2019/1265.
EBA Consults on Standards Related to FRTB-SA
EBA launched a consultation on the draft regulatory technical standards on the list of countries with an advanced economy for calculating the equity risk under the alternative standardized approach (FRTB-SA).
PRA Proposes Rules Related to IRB Approach for Credit Risk
PRA is proposing, via CP7/21, the approach to implementing new requirements related to the specification of the nature, severity, and duration of an economic downturn in the internal ratings-based (IRB) approach to credit risk.
BoE Outlines Regulatory Treatment of Recovery Loan Scheme of UK
The UK government launched the Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS) as part of its continued COVID-19 support for UK businesses, as announced by HM Treasury on March 03, 2021.
FSB Addresses G20 on COVID Measures, TBTF Reforms, and Climate Risks
FSB published a letter, from its Chair Randal K. Quarles, to the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, ahead of their virtual meeting on April 07, 2021.
OSFI Unwinds Temporary Increase to Covered Bond Limit for Banks
OSFI issued a letter to the deposit-taking institutions issuing covered bonds and announced the unwinding of the temporary increase to the covered bond limit for deposit-taking institutions, effective immediately.
EU Amends CRR and Securitization Regulation in Response to Pandemic
To support recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, EU has published two regulations to amend the securitization framework, as set out in the Securitization Regulation (2017/2402) and the Capital Requirements Regulation or CRR (575/2013).
HM Treasury Announces G7 Agreement on Green Agenda Ahead of COP26
HM Treasury announced that G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors met ahead of COP 26, the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference, and agreed on green agenda.
