Statute Details
- Title: Financial Services and Markets (Information Sharing Scheme for Prescribed Financial Institutions) Regulations 2024
- Act Code: FSMA2022-S238-2024
- Type: Subsidiary legislation (SL)
- Authorising Act: Financial Services and Markets Act 2022
- Enacting authority: Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)
- Commencement: 1 April 2024
- Legislation status: Current version as at 27 March 2026
- Regulation number: S 238/2024
- Date made: 14 March 2024
- Key provisions (in the extract): Regulation 1 (citation and commencement); Regulation 2 (prescribed financial institution); Regulation 3 (relevant party)
What Is This Legislation About?
The Financial Services and Markets (Information Sharing Scheme for Prescribed Financial Institutions) Regulations 2024 (“Information Sharing Scheme Regulations”) are subsidiary rules made under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2022 (“FSMA”). In practical terms, they operationalise an information-sharing framework in the FSMA by identifying (i) which financial institutions are “prescribed” for the scheme and (ii) which persons are treated as “relevant parties” in relation to those institutions.
Information sharing is a sensitive area in financial regulation because it involves the disclosure of information that may be personal, commercial, or transaction-related. The scheme is designed to enable appropriate sharing of information among relevant parties and authorities to support regulatory objectives—most notably, the detection and prevention of financial crime and the effective oversight of regulated activities. These Regulations do not create the scheme from scratch; instead, they fill in the “who” and “what relationships” details required by the FSMA.
From a lawyer’s perspective, the Regulations matter because they determine the scope of the information-sharing regime for banks in Singapore and define the categories of counterparties and account/service users who fall within the scheme. That scope affects compliance planning, contractual arrangements, internal governance, and how banks respond to requests for information.
What Are the Key Provisions?
Regulation 1: Citation and commencement provides the formal commencement date. The Regulations are cited as the “Financial Services and Markets (Information Sharing Scheme for Prescribed Financial Institutions) Regulations 2024” and come into operation on 1 April 2024. For practitioners, this is important for determining when the prescribed categories and definitions became effective for compliance purposes.
Regulation 2: Definition of “prescribed financial institution” is the core “institutional scope” provision. It states that, for the purposes of section 28C(a) of the FSMA, MAS prescribes each of the following as a bank in Singapore to which Part 4A of the Act applies:
- the branches and offices of Citibank N.A. located within Singapore;
- Citibank Singapore Limited;
- DBS Bank Ltd.;
- the branches and offices of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited located within Singapore;
- HSBC Bank (Singapore) Limited;
- Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited;
- Standard Chartered Bank (Singapore) Limited;
- United Overseas Bank Limited.
Two points are worth highlighting. First, the Regulations are not framed as a general rule for “all banks”; rather, they prescribe specific banks and, for certain foreign banks, their Singapore branches and offices. Second, the reference to “Part 4A of the Act” indicates that the information-sharing scheme is tied to a particular legislative part within FSMA. Practitioners should therefore read these Regulations together with the FSMA provisions on information sharing (including sections 28B and 28C referenced in the Regulations).
Regulation 3: Definition of “relevant party” defines the “person scope” for banks that are prescribed under Regulation 2. For the purposes of the definition of “relevant party” in section 28B of the FSMA, Regulation 3 prescribes categories of persons who are relevant in relation to a prescribed financial institution that is a bank in Singapore.
Regulation 3(1) lists the following persons as “relevant parties”:
- Account-related persons: any person for whom the bank in Singapore opens (or previously opened) a “relevant account”, or any person who requests the bank to open such an account—whether or not the bank actually opens the account.
- Existing or former account holders/maintained accounts: any person for whom the bank maintains (or previously maintained) a “relevant account”.
- Financial advisory service recipients: any person to whom the bank provides (or previously provided) any financial advisory service (as defined in section 2(1) of the Financial Advisers Act 2001), or any person who requests the bank to provide such a service—whether or not the bank actually provides the service.
- Corporate finance advice recipients: any person to whom the bank advises (or previously advised) on corporate finance (as defined in section 2(1) of the Securities and Futures Act 2001), or any person who requests such advice—whether or not the bank actually provides the advice.
- Transaction counterparties where no relevant account is opened: any person on whose behalf the bank carries out a transaction, where the bank has not opened a relevant account for that person.
- Transaction requesters where no relevant account is opened: any person who requests the bank to carry out a transaction for whom the bank does not open a relevant account—whether or not the bank actually carries out the transaction.
- Former transaction counterparties where no relevant account was opened: any person on whose behalf the bank previously carried out a transaction for whom the bank did not open a relevant account.
These categories are drafted broadly and include both actual and prospective relationships (“requests” are included even if the bank does not in fact open the account or provide the service). This is a compliance-relevant drafting technique: it reduces the risk that banks could avoid the scheme by arguing that no account was opened or no service was ultimately provided.
Regulation 3(2) then provides interpretive definitions that matter for operationalisation:
- “Relevant account” means an account held in the name of the person, whether or not the account is held jointly with any other person.
- “Transaction” means a wire transfer or value transfer.
- “Value transfer” and “wire transfer” have the meanings given by section 28B of the FSMA.
For practitioners, the definitions signal that the scheme is not limited to deposit accounts. It extends to transaction activity (wire/value transfers) and to advisory/corporate finance interactions. The “joint account” clarification is also important: a person remains a relevant party even if the account is shared, which affects how banks identify and document counterparties for information-sharing purposes.
How Is This Legislation Structured?
The Regulations are structured as a short instrument with a straightforward layout. In the extract provided, the Regulations comprise:
- Regulation 1 (Citation and commencement): sets the name and effective date.
- Regulation 2 (Definition of “prescribed financial institution”): lists the specific banks in Singapore to which the relevant FSMA provisions apply.
- Regulation 3 (Definition of “relevant party”): enumerates categories of persons connected to the prescribed banks, and provides key definitions for “relevant account” and “transaction”.
Although the extract does not show additional provisions, the Regulations are clearly designed to “plug into” the FSMA’s information-sharing framework by defining the scope terms used in the Act.
Who Does This Legislation Apply To?
Institutional scope: The Regulations apply to the banks in Singapore that are prescribed under Regulation 2. This includes both locally incorporated banks (e.g., DBS Bank Ltd., HSBC Bank (Singapore) Limited, OCBC, Standard Chartered Bank (Singapore) Limited, UOB) and the Singapore branches/offices of certain foreign banks (Citibank N.A.; The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited).
Person scope: For each prescribed bank, the Regulations identify “relevant parties” as persons connected to the bank through accounts, advisory services, corporate finance advice, or transactions (including wire/value transfers). The inclusion of “requesters” and “persons on whose behalf” transactions are carried out—regardless of whether the bank ultimately opens an account or completes the transaction—means that the scheme can capture a wider set of counterparties than those who ultimately become customers.
In practice, this affects compliance teams, relationship managers, onboarding/KYC functions, and transaction operations. It also affects how banks respond to information-sharing requests and how they document the basis for identifying a person as a relevant party.
Why Is This Legislation Important?
These Regulations are important because they determine the reach of the FSMA’s information-sharing scheme. By prescribing specific banks and defining “relevant parties” broadly, MAS ensures that the scheme applies to major banking institutions and covers a wide range of customer and counterparty relationships.
From an enforcement and risk perspective, the Regulations reduce ambiguity. If a bank is a prescribed financial institution, it cannot easily argue that the information-sharing regime is inapplicable merely because a person did not become a customer (e.g., no account was opened) or because a service request was not ultimately provided. The “whether or not” language in Regulation 3(1) is a strong indicator that the scheme is intended to operate based on the existence of a request or relationship, not only on completed outcomes.
For practitioners advising banks, the practical impact is significant. Counsel should consider how internal policies and procedures will identify relevant accounts, classify advisory and corporate finance interactions, and map transaction counterparties—especially for wire/value transfers where no relevant account is opened. Contractual arrangements with customers and counterparties may also need to be reviewed to ensure that disclosures and consent mechanisms (to the extent required by other laws) align with the information-sharing framework.
Finally, because the Regulations are made under FSMA and reference specific FSMA sections (notably sections 28B and 28C), lawyers should treat this instrument as part of a broader legislative package. The Regulations are the “scope-setting” layer; the substantive information-sharing mechanics will be found in the FSMA itself and any related guidance.
Related Legislation
- Financial Services and Markets Act 2022 (FSMA) — including sections 28B and 28C and Part 4A (as referenced)
- Financial Advisers Act 2001 — definition of “financial advisory service” in section 2(1) (as referenced)
- Securities and Futures Act 2001 — definition of “corporate finance” in section 2(1) (as referenced)
- Financial Services and Markets (Information Sharing Scheme for Prescribed Financial Institutions) Regulations 2024 (S 238/2024)
Source Documents
This article provides an overview of the Financial Services and Markets (Information Sharing Scheme for Prescribed Financial Institutions) Regulations 2024 for legal research and educational purposes. It does not constitute legal advice. Readers should consult the official text for authoritative provisions.