On 14 May 2021, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (“MAS“) issued a consultation paper seeking feedback on proposals to mandate reference checks of representatives and specific employees of financial institutions in Singapore (“FIs“).
This consultation follows an earlier July 2018 MAS consultation paper on proposals to mandate reference checks for representatives of FIs where MAS proposed, among other things, that FIs conduct reference checks and respond to reference check requests on prospective representatives.
In the present consultation, to maintain public confidence and trust in the financial industry, a collective effort across the financial industry in the form of mandatory reference checks extending beyond representatives to other employees, and to ensure meaningful information exchange, will be introduced. Under the proposed mandatory reference check framework, FIs will be required to respond to reference check requests, based on a set of minimum mandatory information within a specified period of time.
This Update highlights the salient points of MAS’ proposals in the present consultation relating to the scope of FIs and employees that will be subject to these mandatory reference checks requirements, standardising requirements concerning request and response to reference checks, FIs’ duty on record keeping and investigation/disciplinary process as well as the implementation timeline.
For more information, click here to read the full Legal Update.
