Monetary Authority of Singapore

About MAS

The Monetary Authority of Singapore is Singapore’s central bank and integrated financial regulator. It was established in 1971 to centralise the monetary, banking and financial regulatory functions previously carried out by several government departments. As Singapore’s central bank, MAS conducts monetary policy, manages Singapore’s official foreign reserves, issues currency and promotes monetary and financial stability. Singapore’s monetary policy framework is centred on managing the Singapore dollar against a trade-weighted basket of currencies. As an integrated financial regulator, MAS supervises banks, insurers, capital markets intermediaries, financial advisers, payment service providers, trust companies and other regulated financial institutions. For forex and derivatives activities, MAS licenses or exempts qualifying financial institutions under Singapore’s capital markets framework. A firm providing leveraged foreign exchange trading, over-the-counter derivatives or related investment services must hold the relevant permissions, which can be checked through the MAS Financial Institutions Directory. MAS also establishes conduct, capital, risk-management and customer-protection requirements, investigates regulatory breaches and may impose restrictions, financial penalties, licence conditions or other enforcement measures. Consumers should first raise a complaint directly with the relevant financial institution. Eligible unresolved retail disputes may subsequently be referred to the Financial Industry Disputes Resolution Centre, subject to FIDReC’s jurisdiction and applicable rules.