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 (FSMA 2022)
- Enacting Power: Section 192 of the FSMA 2022
- Commencement: 1 April 2024
- Legislation Number: S 238/2024
- Status: Current version as at 27 March 2026
- Key Regulations: Regulation 1 (Citation and commencement); Regulation 2 (Definition of “prescribed financial institution”); Regulation 3 (Definition of “relevant party”)
- Regulatory Authority: Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)
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 legislation made under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2022 (“FSMA”). In practical terms, the Regulations operationalise an information-sharing framework in the FSMA by identifying (i) which financial institutions are “prescribed” and (ii) which persons are “relevant parties” for the purposes of the scheme.
The scheme is designed to support financial crime prevention and regulatory oversight by enabling prescribed financial institutions to share certain information with other parties within the scope of the FSMA framework. While the Regulations themselves are short, they are legally significant because they determine the boundaries of who and what falls within the information-sharing scheme. For practitioners, the key point is that the Regulations do not create the scheme from scratch; they “fill in the blanks” in the FSMA by prescribing the institutions and persons covered.
In plain language: once a bank is prescribed under these Regulations, the bank and the relevant persons connected to its accounts and services may fall within the FSMA’s information-sharing regime. The Regulations therefore have direct consequences for compliance programmes, onboarding and account management workflows, and internal governance around data handling and disclosure.
What Are the Key Provisions?
Regulation 1 (Citation and commencement) provides the legal entry point. It states that the Regulations are the “Financial Services and Markets (Information Sharing Scheme for Prescribed Financial Institutions) Regulations 2024” and that they come into operation on 1 April 2024. For compliance planning, this commencement date matters because it determines when the prescribed categories became effective for the FSMA scheme.
Regulation 2 (Definition of “prescribed financial institution”) is the cornerstone for identifying covered institutions. It prescribes each of the following as a “bank in Singapore” to which Part 4A of the FSMA applies, for the purposes of section 28C(a) of the Act:
- 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.
From a practitioner’s perspective, Regulation 2 is not merely descriptive. It is a legal trigger: only the banks listed (including specified branches/offices) are prescribed for the scheme’s operation. This has implications for (a) whether a bank’s internal policies must treat certain information-sharing processes as mandatory under the FSMA Part 4A regime, and (b) whether contractual and operational arrangements with counterparties should anticipate disclosures under the scheme.
Regulation 3 (Definition of “relevant party”) is the second major boundary-setting provision. It prescribes, for the purposes of the definition of “relevant party” in section 28B of the FSMA, the persons who are relevant in relation to a prescribed financial institution that is a bank in Singapore. Regulation 3(1) lists categories that are broad and functionally tied to account relationships, advisory services, and transaction execution.
The prescribed “relevant party” categories include:
- Account holders and account requesters: any person the bank has opened (or previously opened) a “relevant account” for, or any person who requests the bank to open such an account—whether or not the account is actually opened.
- Existing and former account maintainers: any person the bank maintains (or previously maintained) a “relevant account” for.
- Recipients or requesters of financial advisory services: any person to whom the bank provides (or previously provided) financial advisory services (as defined in section 2(1) of the Financial Advisers Act 2001), or any person who requests such services—again, whether or not the service is actually provided.
- Recipients or requesters of corporate finance advice: 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 advice is actually provided.
- Transaction counterparties where no relevant account is opened: any person on whose behalf the bank is carrying out a transaction, for whom the bank has not opened a relevant account.
- 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 in fact 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 intentionally wide. They capture not only completed relationships (e.g., accounts actually opened, services actually provided, transactions actually executed) but also requests and situations where the bank does not open an account. For compliance and legal risk management, this breadth means that “relevant party” status can arise even at the pre-contract stage (e.g., a person requests account opening or advisory services) and even where the bank declines or does not proceed.
Regulation 3(2) then provides key definitions that practitioners will need to interpret the scope correctly:
- “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.
Accordingly, the scheme’s reach is not limited to classic deposit accounts. It extends to transaction activity involving wire/value transfers, and it covers persons connected to those transactions even where no “relevant account” exists.
How Is This Legislation Structured?
The Regulations are structured as a short instrument with three operative provisions:
- Regulation 1 sets the citation and commencement date.
- Regulation 2 defines “prescribed financial institution” by listing the specific banks (and specified branches/offices) in Singapore that are treated as prescribed for the relevant FSMA provisions.
- Regulation 3 defines “relevant party” by enumerating categories of persons connected to the bank through accounts, advisory services, and transactions, and by providing interpretive definitions for “relevant account” and “transaction”.
Notably, the Regulations do not themselves describe the mechanics of information sharing. Instead, they operate as a scope-defining instrument that works together with the FSMA’s substantive provisions (including sections 28B and 28C referenced in the Regulations).
Who Does This Legislation Apply To?
These Regulations apply to prescribed financial institutions—specifically, the banks in Singapore listed in Regulation 2—and to persons who fall within the definition of “relevant party” in Regulation 3 in relation to those banks.
For banks, the practical effect is that compliance teams must treat the listed institutions as within the FSMA Part 4A information-sharing regime. For individuals and counterparties, the effect is that certain account-related, advisory-related, and transaction-related interactions with those banks may place them within the “relevant party” category, including where they merely request services or transactions or where the bank does not open an account.
Why Is This Legislation Important?
Although the Regulations are brief, they are legally consequential because they determine the coverage of the FSMA information-sharing scheme. In regulated financial services, the difference between “covered” and “not covered” can affect whether disclosures are permitted or required, what internal approvals are needed, and how data governance policies must be designed.
From an enforcement and supervisory perspective, MAS can rely on these Regulations to establish that the scheme applies to the specified banks and to the enumerated categories of relevant parties. This reduces ambiguity and supports consistent application across the banking sector.
For practitioners advising banks, the Regulations should be integrated into compliance frameworks in at least three ways:
- Customer and counterparty mapping: ensure that onboarding and transaction workflows can identify whether a person is a “relevant party” (including requesters and persons connected to transactions without a relevant account).
- Data handling and disclosure governance: align internal procedures with the FSMA scheme so that information-sharing steps are triggered appropriately and are documented.
- Contracting and operational readiness: consider whether customer disclosures, terms, and operational playbooks reflect the possibility of information sharing under the FSMA framework for relevant parties.
Finally, because Regulation 2 lists specific banks and specified branches/offices, counsel should monitor whether future amendments expand or alter the prescribed list. Any change could require updates to compliance policies and operational systems.
Related Legislation
- Financial Services and Markets Act 2022 (FSMA 2022), including sections 28B, 28C, and the regulation-making power in section 192
- Financial Advisers Act 2001 (definition of “financial advisory service” in section 2(1))
- Securities and Futures Act 2001 (definition of “corporate finance” in section 2(1))
- Markets Act 2022 (listed in the statute metadata as related legislation)
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.