The latest compliance news: regulatory developments, punishments, guidance, permissions, new product and service offerings.

Monetary Authority of Singapore
The Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Cyber Security Advisory Panel (CSAP) wants to raise awareness about the benefits and risks of generative artificial intelligence. It has also urged that multi-factor authentication for mobile banking and payments should be strengthened.

With regard to multi-factor authentication, the panel said it favoured adopting “passwordless” and “out-of-band” authentication that operates separately from the mobile device used for performing mobile banking and payments, the Monetary Authority of Singapore said in a statement. 

On AI, the panel said that financial institutions should manage risks by raising employee awareness of the safe use of generative AI and set up comprehensive data handling policies. Firms should also use AI to be more resilient against cybersecurity attacks.

MAS, FINMA, FCA, FSA
Separately, the Monetary Authority of Singapore is partnering the Financial Services Agency of Japan (FSA), the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) and the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to advance digital asset pilots in fixed income, foreign exchange and asset management products. 

The Singaporean regulator has worked with 15 financial institutions to carry out industry pilots on asset tokenization in fixed income, foreign exchange, and asset management products. 

Hong Kong SFC
Last week, the Securities and Futures Commission welcomed initiatives in the policy address of John Lee, Hong Kong’s chief executive, to enhance Hong Kong’s competitiveness as an international financial centre.

“We fully support the measures outlined by the chief executive and his adoption of the recommendations by the Task Force on Enhancing Stock Market Liquidity to strengthen the competitiveness of the stock market and promote its sustainable development,” SFC’s chairman Tim Lui, said. “The SFC will work closely with the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited to examine how to implement these recommendations.”

The SFC said it welcomed Lee’s proposals to strengthen Hong Kong’s offshore renminbi business, deepen financial cooperation in the Greater Bay Area, establish a new platform to expand fund distribution and to promote green and sustainable finance in Hong Kong.