2021-06-25

Added · Updated

Notice on Lending of Singapore Dollar to Non-Resident Financial Institutions

MAS Notice 816 governs the lending of Singapore Dollars by finance companies to non-resident financial institutions, cancelling the previous version dated March 2002. Finance companies may lend up to S$5 million per entity without restriction, but for amounts exceeding this threshold, proceeds used outside Singapore must be swapped or converted into foreign currency upon draw-down and must not be used for currency speculation. Additionally, finance companies are required to report their aggregate outstanding S$ lending monthly to MAS within 10 working days after the reporting month and maintain documentary evidence for audit purposes.

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Monetary Authority of Singapore FINANCE COMPANIES ACT (CAP. 108) NOTICE ON LENDING OF SINGAPORE DOLLAR TO NON-RESIDENT FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

Notice No : MAS 816 Issue Date : 28 May 2004 (last revised on 28 June 2021) NOTICE ON LENDING OF SINGAPORE DOLLAR TO NON￾RESIDENT FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS MAS Notice 816 dated 20 March 2002 is cancelled. 1 Scope 1.1 This Notice issued pursuant to section 30 of the Finance Companies Act (Cap 108) (the “Act”) governs the lending of S$ by finance companies to non-resident financial institutions. [MAS Notice 816 (Amendment) 2021] 1.2 This Notice does not apply to the lending of S$ to individuals and non￾financial institutions (including corporate treasury centres). 1.3 This Notice does not permit finance companies to engage in financial activities beyond the scope of their licences or in contravention of the Act or other MAS Notices, Directions or Guidelines. [MAS Notice 816 (Amendment) 2021] 2 Definition 2.1 In this Notice: “Entities” include legal entities, partnerships/firms and other forms of business vehicles; [MAS Notice 816 (Amendment) 2021] “Financial institutions” means entities whose main business is in financial services, including one or more of the following: (a) banking; (b) merchant banking; (c) investment banking; (d) financing;

Notice on Lending of Singapore Dollar to Non-Resident Financial Institutions 2 (e) insurance; (f) dealing in capital market products; (g) asset / fund management (including hedge funds); (h) money, futures, and prime brokering; (i) other types of financial activity that MAS may designate in writing; [MAS Notice 816 (Amendment) 2021] “Non-residents” means entities which do not fall within the definition of a resident; [MAS Notice 816 (Amendment) 2021] “Residents” means: (a) companies which are at least 50% owned by Singapore citizens; or (b) the following financial institutions in Singapore which are subject to this notice, or MAS Notices 109, 757, 1105 or SFA 04-N04: (i) a bank licensed under the Banking Act (Cap 19); (ii) a merchant bank licensed under the Banking Act; (iii) a finance company licensed under the Act; (iv) a licensed insurer (other than a captive insurer) under the Insurance Act (Cap 142); and (v) a person holding a capital markets services licence to carry on a business of dealing in capital market products that are securities, units in a collective investment scheme or securities-based derivatives contracts under the Securities and Futures Act (Cap 289); and [MAS Notice 816 (Amendment) 2021]

Notice on Lending of Singapore Dollar to Non-Resident Financial Institutions 3 “S$ credit facilities” include loans, contingent credit lines and foreign exchange swaps involving a sale of S$ to a non-resident financial institution in the first leg of the transaction. 2.2 The expressions used in this Notice, except where expressly defined in this Notice or where the context otherwise requires, have the same meanings as in the Act. [MAS Notice 816 (Amendment) 2021] 3 S$ Credit Facilities 3.1 A finance company may lend S$ to non-resident financial institutions for any purpose whether in Singapore or elsewhere as long as the aggregate S$ credit facilities do not exceed S$5 million per entity1 . [MAS Notice 816 (Amendment) 2021] 3.2 Where a finance company lends S$ to a non-resident financial institution for any purpose whether in Singapore or elsewhere and the aggregate S$ credit facilities exceed S$5 million for that non-resident financial institution, a finance company must comply with all of the following conditions: [MAS Notice 816 (Amendment) 2021] (a) Where the S$ proceeds are to be used outside Singapore, the finance company must ensure that the S$ proceeds are swapped or converted into foreign currency upon draw-down; [MAS Notice 816 (Amendment) 2021] (b) Notwithstanding paragraph 3.2(a), the finance company must not extend S$ credit facilities to non-resident financial institutions if there is reason to believe that the S$ proceeds may be used for S$ currency speculation. [MAS Notice 816 (Amendment) 2021] 1 For financial institutions seeking to obtain S$ credit facilities, each subsidiary is considered a separate entity while the head office and all overseas branches are collectively regarded as one entity. [MAS Notice 816 (Amendment) 2021]

Notice on Lending of Singapore Dollar to Non-Resident Financial Institutions 4 3.3 A finance company must report to MAS, monthly, its aggregate outstanding S$ lending to non-resident financial institutions in the format in Appendix 1. Where a finance company does not have any aggregate outstanding S$ lending to non-resident financial institutions for a particular month, the finance company must submit a nil return for that month. A finance company must submit all of the information required in Appendix 1 to the Monetary Management Division of MAS no later than 10 working days after the reporting month. A finance company must keep documentary evidence supporting these S$ credit facilities for audit and inspection purposes. [MAS Notice 816 (Amendment) 2021] 4 S$ Equity and Bond Issuance 4.1 A finance company may arrange S$ equity or bond issues for non￾resident financial institutions. If the S$ proceeds are to be used outside Singapore, they must be swapped or converted into foreign currency before remitting abroad. [MAS Notice 816 (Amendment) 2021] 5 Consultation Procedure 5.1 Should a finance company need to consult MAS, it may write to: [MAS Notice 816 (Amendment) 2021] Monetary Management Division, MAS 10 Shenton Way, MAS Building 26th Floor Singapore 079117 Fax: 62299491 Email: sgddiv@mas.gov.sg

  • Endnotes on History of Amendments
  1. MAS Notice 816 (Amendment) 2018 with effect from 8 October 2018.

Notice on Lending of Singapore Dollar to Non-Resident Financial Institutions 5 2. MAS Notice 816 (Amendment) 2021 dated 28 June 2021 with effect from 1 July 2021.

Notice on Lending of Singapore Dollar to Non-Resident Financial Institutions 6 APPENDIX 1 OUTSTANDING S$ CREDIT FACILITY (To be submitted online) AS AT END OF (month) Name of Finance Company _____________ Finance Company Code _____ Officer-in-charge ____________________ (Tel) ____________________ S$ CREDIT FACILITIES Non-Resident Financial Institution Outstanding Amount (S$’m) In Singapore Outside Singapore Total

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