Compliance
Singapore Regulator Lifts Six-Month Pause On DBS's "Non-Essential" Activities
The watchdog had imposed a halt on the bank while the lender sorted out a set of problems in its digital banking systems. The stakes are high because banks are increasingly embracing digital tech.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore yesterday said that it would not extend the pause imposed on DBS Bank’s non-essential business while it restored its digital banking services after a series of mishaps.
The six-month pause was imposed from 1 November and ran until yesterday.
The multiplier of 1.8 times to DBS Bank’s risk weighted assets for operational risk will be retained, the Singapore regulator said in a statement.
The watchdog imposed the pause to “ensure that the bank kept a sharp focus on restoring the resilience of its digital banking services.”
Such problems come at a time when banks around the world are moving towards more digital channels, making it all the more necessary for systems to remain robust.
“While full implementation of the remediation plan is still ongoing, MAS notes that DBS Bank has made substantive progress to address the shortcomings identified from service disruptions experienced by its customers in 2023. Improvements have been made to its technology risk governance, system resilience, change management, and incident management,” MAS said.
DBS has apologised for a set of digital disruptions during 2023.
MAS said the bank’s remediation will continue with some longer-term measures still being worked on, such as the continued simplification and strengthening of the bank’s system's architecture.
“A six-month pause on non-essential activities, imposed by MAS since November 2023, has enabled the bank to further prioritise attention and resources on addressing gaps in technology resiliency,” DBS said in a statement.
“In particular, to improve service availability and speed up recovery time in the event of disruptions, the bank has undertaken a number of key actions in the areas of technology risk governance and oversight, system resilience, change management and incident management,” it said.
