Wolters Kluwer Survey Shows Singapore Bankers Still in Preparation Stage for Upcoming Regulations

  • Risk Management
  • 21.05.2019 01:14 pm

Wolters Kluwer’s Finance, Risk & Reporting (FRR) business has released research showing that the vast majority of banks active in Singapore are still in the data gap analysis stage of preparing for upcoming regulations MAS 610 / 1003 - with 76% of banks surveyed stating that they still in the preparatory phase. Only a small percentage (2%) of early birds have already gone live among the surveyed institutions, or are in the User Acceptance Testing stage of their preparation (again at 2%). Just 16% reported that they were in the data loading Extract Transform Load creation stage with 4% reporting there were in the process of setting up a solution. Although the deadline is still some time off, that time is passing rapidly, Wolters Kluwer has warned. In fact, banks need to take great care that their preparations remain on track, to ensure the deadline is met.

The scope of new proposals in the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) overhaul of the MAS 610 reporting regime for banks has been far reaching with banks now preparing to meet the new obligations. The core set of returns that banks file to the Monetary Authority of Singapore are being revised to require information at a far more granular level. In fact, the number of data elements that firms have to report will rise from about 4,000 to approximately 300,000. Consequently, banks active in the country are updating their infrastructure to comply with the regulatory developments.

“In line with global norms, regulators in APAC are placing greater emphasis on the qualitative aspect of report automation. It is no longer sufficient to just have the right answer; banks must also explain how the answer was derived. Financial institutions need to demonstrate quality of data and are increasingly discouraged from using manual processes in regulatory reporting and other important business functions,” noted Wouter Delbaere, Singapore-based Director of Regulatory Reporting, APAC, for Wolters Kluwer FRR.

Responses to the Wolters Kluwer FRR survey were collected between February and March 2019, from 49 representatives working in finance, compliance, risk and IT roles within the Singapore banking community. More than 30 banks took part in the survey, with a strong contingent of mid-sized firms in the respondents.

“While the industry is digesting the impact of a big regulatory overhaul of initiatives such as the MAS 610 returns, it is recommended that firms also consider solutions which help them limit their exposure to regulatory change,” Delbaere added. “Automatic updates to data requirements and out of the box business logic based on any changes to regulatory calculations, forms, validation rules and delivery can help firms rest assured that they are meeting their regulatory obligations at all times.”

Wolters Kluwer FRR, which is part of Wolters Kluwer’s Governance, Risk & Compliance division, is a global market leader in the provision of integrated regulatory compliance and reporting solutions, supporting regulated financial institutions in meeting their obligations to external regulators and their own boards of directors.

Wolters Kluwer FRR receives frequent independent recognition of its excellence and innovation. In mid-2018, Risk magazine awarded the company its coveted Regulatory Reporting System of The Year Award and Central Banking magazine recently named OneSumX for Regulatory Reporting its Best Technology Solution For Regulatory Compliance. Wolters Kluwer FRR is also this year’s Category Winner for Regulatory Reporting in the annual RiskTech100® report. This comprehensive study of the world’s leading risk and compliance technology companies is compiled by Chartis Research. Notably, this is the seventh time in eight years that Wolters Kluwer FRR has achieved this honor.

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