Singapore central bank working with industry group to streamline private bank account applications

SINGAPORE — Singapore's central bank is working with the country's private banking industry group to shorten the time needed for wealthy individuals to open bank accounts, the bank's chief said on Monday (May 25).

The Monetary Authority of Singapore issued a circular on Monday guiding financial institutions to establish a client's source of wealth in a "risk-proportionate" way in order to cut application times, said managing director Chia Der Jiun.

The central bank has imposed stringent anti-money laundering controls in the wealth management sector, compelling banks to do extensive due diligence into account applicants.

The guidelines are expected to cut the median time needed to open an account to within one month, from the current six weeks or longer for more complex cases, Chia said.

Chia was speaking at the UBS Asian Investment Conference (AIC) Singapore Wealth Edition.

"It provides further guidance for applying the principles of materiality and relevance, so that financial institutions can avoid unnecessary and excessive steps in the process and be more targeted," he added.

Chia said case studies and training for relationship managers and compliance professionals in the industry will also be rolled out in the coming months.

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