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Chitchat MAS - Lack of Courage and Candour

scroobal

Alfrescian
Loyal
Looks like its worse than I thought. The Swiss authorities had already made the decision to close BSI and had given EFT International 12 months to complete integration and proceed to dissolve the 143 year old bank in its entirety.

Imagine tiny Singapore and its poor regulatory oversight first led to the collapse of the second oldest bank in the World, Barings as result of Nick Leeson. It was 233 years old when it collapsed in 1995 and now a 143 year bank has collapsed. Both the result of poor management in its Singapore Branch, both the result of poor regulatory oversight.

MAS and the Finance Minister has to explain why both occurred in Singapore.
 

po2wq

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
... MAS and the Finance Minister has to explain why both occurred in Singapore.
ze safest place is ze most dangerous place ...

sinkielan boast a clean, incorruptible, no-nonsense gahmen ... nobody wud tink dat it wun happen in reddot ...


古龍 is rite ... 最危險的地方,就是最安全的地方 ...
 

bigboss

Alfrescian
Loyal
... I
Compliance and money laundering laws including KYC requirements are now pretty much templated internationally. It is nothing new. Moving $20m million at one go from account with no related history is a red flag to anyone let alone a bull. Why is this so hard to control?

It is not a question of control ... it is really a case of inefficiency. When smoke was first detected, pappies should have looked to see what caused the smoke and who was the culprit. Being inefficient, pappies decided that although got smoke but no fire, nothing to worry. Now MAS is the butt of sick jokes in the financial world.

Pappies are really nothing but bull shiters about being efficient and able to keep house in order. BSI has shown it takes only a few monkeys to make a humpty dumpty out of pappies.
 

bigboss

Alfrescian
Loyal
....MAS and the Finance Minister has to explain why both occurred in Singapore.

Sinapo is not efficiently governed by the pappies although they have always wanted the world to know it is a well run country.
Foreigners know the ineptitude of the pappies and they have used the island as a front to perpetrate their criminal activities like money laundering, smuggling, drug trafficking and prostitution.

The latest news is one imported foreign shit, likely an Indian or Nepalese, who tried to smuggle gold into Nepal. He holds sinapo passport and the world now knows sinkies are no longer good old law abiding sinaporans like before. Thanks and no thanks to the pappies and their foreign imported shits for bringing shame to the country.
 

virus

Alfrescian
Loyal
Looks like its worse than I thought. The Swiss authorities had already made the decision to close BSI and had given EFT International 12 months to complete integration and proceed to dissolve the 143 year old bank in its entirety.

Imagine tiny Singapore and its poor regulatory oversight first led to the collapse of the second oldest bank in the World, Barings as result of Nick Leeson. It was 233 years old when it collapsed in 1995 and now a 143 year bank has collapsed. Both the result of poor management in its Singapore Branch, both the result of poor regulatory oversight.

MAS and the Finance Minister has to explain why both occurred in Singapore.

our ministar will ask PA to exprain no one point gun on bsi to setup here, these cheaters took multi billion contract from the crunch of DeeBayiArse n cause bayi too lose massive in revenue. it is only natural a revenge to close them is in order. tml they will say bsi help chinese scammers, nigerian syndicate, panama shell companies, anything to bury them leep leep
 

iluvgst

Alfrescian
Loyal
it's well known to economic criminals worldwide that singapore is THE money laundering hub of the east. Facilitated and sanctioned by the establishment. BSI shutdown is just a show.
 

dr.wailing

Alfrescian
Loyal
MAS and the Finance Minister has to explain why both occurred in Singapore.
Even though I'm an ex-Sinkie, I know it for a fact that the only people who need to explain in great lengths about their actions are Low Thia Kiang, Sylvia Lim and their Aljunied Town Council.
 

dr.wailing

Alfrescian
Loyal
Now MAS is the butt of sick jokes in the financial world. Pappies are really nothing but bull shiters about being efficient and able to keep house in order. BSI has shown it takes only a few monkeys to make a humpty dumpty out of pappies.

The only people who are really buying into MAS and PAP's bullshit are the 69.9%, which amounts to fewer than 3 million people.

About 3 BILLION people outside of Sinkieland know the real face of PAP.
 

frenchbriefs

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
I have met italians in Australia and they are the laziest people in the world.their daily routines revolves around lazing around,chatting with the buddies all day long,banging chicks and smoking weed.if u put a italian against a hippie,the hippie will have a run for his money.
 

krafty

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
I have met italians in Australia and they are the laziest people in the world.their daily routines revolves around lazing around,chatting with the buddies all day long,banging chicks and smoking weed.if u put a italian against a hippie,the hippie will have a run for his money.

not really that bad, italians! i know one italian who worked his butt out daily, i think he is more hardworking than most jiak liao bee sinkies. but i see that he is only like that cos' back in italy, many like his age are jobless.
 

scroobal

Alfrescian
Loyal
Here are some additional details of MAS conduct

1. Everyone in MAS involved in this case including their MD knew that the Swiss financial regulators Finma had as a condition of agreeing to the sale of BSI to EFG International that the new owners have to close down BSI in its entirety within 12 mths before its went to the press.

2. MAS and the local media despite the closure notice did not specify when the closure would take place. In fact it continues to conduct business as normal. It now appears that the notice served is one of intention to to withdraw the licence. The official MAS press release attached below. Note the difference between the heading and the content.

I can think only that this was a rush to save face.

MAS directs BSI Bank to shut down in Singapore

Singapore, 24 May 2016…The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced today that it has served BSI Bank Limited (BSI Bank) notice of intention to withdraw its status as a merchant bank in Singapore for serious breaches of anti-money laundering requirements, poor management oversight of the bank’s operations, and gross misconduct by some of the bank’s staff.

2 In addition, MAS has referred to the Public Prosecutor the names of six members of BSI Bank’s senior management and staff to evaluate whether they have committed criminal offences.

3 BSI Bank has been operating as a merchant bank in Singapore since November 2005 where it offers private banking services. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BSI SA, a bank founded in 1873 and headquartered in Switzerland.

Assurance for customers of BSI Bank

4 Clients and customers of BSI Bank are assured that the Bank is solvent and has assets in excess of its liabilities and commitments. It also has the full support of its parent bank, BSI SA, in Switzerland. MAS is working closely with the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), the home regulator of BSI SA, to oversee an orderly closure of BSI Bank in Singapore.

5 MAS notes that FINMA has approved the acquisition of the entire BSI Group by EFG International, a bank authorised by FINMA and headquartered in Switzerland. In the interest of the customers of BSI Bank, MAS will allow the transfer of the Singapore subsidiary’s assets and liabilities to the Singapore branch of EFG Bank AG or to the parent entity, BSI SA.

Withdrawal of merchant bank status

6 In 2011, MAS inspected BSI Bank and found policy and process lapses at the front office and weak enforcement by control functions. The lapses were rectified. In 2014, MAS inspected the bank again and uncovered serious shortcomings in its due diligence checks on assets underlying the investment funds structured for the bank’s customers. Given repeated findings of weaknesses in its control regime, MAS instructed BSI Bank’s management to increase scrutiny of the bank’s risk management processes and internal controls. A more intrusive third inspection by MAS in 2015 revealed multiple breaches of anti-money laundering regulations and a pervasive pattern of non-compliance.

7 MAS’ decision to withdraw BSI Bank’s status as a merchant bank takes into account the repetitive lapses as well as the 2015 inspection findings which revealed:

widespread control failures which led to numerous serious breaches of various anti-money laundering regulations
poor and ineffective oversight by the senior management of BSI Bank
unacceptable risk culture, with blatant disregard for compliance and control requirements as well as MAS’ regulations
numerous acts of gross misconduct by certain staff
8 Specific regulatory lapses include the processing of multiple unusual transactions which were essentially pass-through trades often without economic substance. Approvals of such transactions were based purely on faith of client representations despite deficient documentation and concerns raised by the bank’s compliance officers.

9 This is the first time that MAS is withdrawing its approval for a merchant bank since 1984, when Jardine Fleming (Singapore) Pte Ltd was shut down for serious lapses in its advisory work.

Referral of BSIS senior management and staff to the Public Prosecutor

10 MAS found considerable evidence of gross dereliction of duty and failure to discharge oversight responsibilities on the part of BSI Bank’s senior management. Their ineffective governance led to a poor risk culture, which prioritised questionable customer demands ahead of compliance with anti-money laundering regulations and the bank’s own internal controls.

11 Several of the bank staff also committed wilful acts of misconduct, such as:

making material misrepresentations to auditors
abetting improper valuations of assets; and
taking instructions from persons other than customers’ authorised representatives on matters relating to customers’ accounts
12 The severe lapses and failings in BSI Bank, which led to MAS’ decision to withdraw the bank’s status as a merchant bank, were the result of the actions or omissions of these individuals.

13 MAS has referred to the Public Prosecutor the names of the following six members of BSI Bank’s senior management and staff to evaluate whether they have committed criminal offences:

Mr Hans Peter Brunner, former CEO
Mr Raj Sriram, former Deputy CEO
Mr Kevin Michael Swampillai*, Head of Wealth Management Services
Mr Yak Yew Chee, former Senior Private Banker
Mr Yeo Jiawei**, former Wealth Planner; and
Ms Seah Yew Foong Yvonne, former Senior Private Banker
* Mr Swampillai is currently suspended by the bank.
** Mr Yeo is currently in remand and has been charged by the Public Prosecutor for various offences.

Imposition of financial penalties

14 MAS has also served BSI Bank notice to impose financial penalties amounting to $13.3 million for 41 breaches of MAS Notice 1014 - Prevention of Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism. The breaches include failure to perform enhanced customer due diligence on high risk accounts, and to monitor for suspicious customer transactions on an ongoing basis.

MAS’ expectations of financial institutions

15 MAS requires financial institutions in Singapore to comply strictly with its regulations on anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism. Like all major international financial and business centres, Singapore faces an inherent risk of being used as a conduit for illicit financial flows. Financial institutions operating in Singapore are therefore expected to have rigorous systems and processes to thwart this risk, including high standards of vigilance in on-boarding clients and monitoring transactions.

16 Mr Ravi Menon, Managing Director, MAS, said, “BSI Bank is the worst case of control lapses and gross misconduct that we have seen in the Singapore financial sector. It is a stark reminder to all financial institutions to take their anti-money laundering responsibilities seriously. Controls need to be robust, surveillance vigilant, and the management culture must emphasise professional integrity and risk consciousness.”

17 MAS is conducting supervisory reviews of several other financial institutions and bank accounts through which suspicious and unusual transactions have taken place. MAS will not hesitate to take actions against these institutions if they are found to have breached regulations or fallen short of expectations.

18 Mr Menon said, “MAS is absolutely committed to safeguarding the integrity and reputation of Singapore’s financial centre. On this, there can be no compromise.”
 

halsey02

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
It is not a question of control ... it is really a case of inefficiency. When smoke was first detected, pappies should have looked to see what caused the smoke and who was the culprit. Being inefficient, pappies decided that although got smoke but no fire, nothing to worry. Now MAS is the butt of sick jokes in the financial world.

Pappies are really nothing but bull shiters about being efficient and able to keep house in order. BSI has shown it takes only a few monkeys to make a humpty dumpty out of pappies.

You are right on this efficiency, had we gotten to the part now, we are so blinded by money that we have forgotten our moral values?. Monetary Authority Of Singapore or MAS for short has a lasting memory for me, as a tough, no nonsense authority , something in which you could trust & depend your life, on so to speak. Over the years, you mention MAS to anyone working in the financial & banking industries...it will send shivers down your spine & to receive directives from them, is akin to be receiving 'imperial edict', something you have to fulfil or you 'head gets chopped off'.

I am quite surprised that such a thing could happen to MAS..for they are to be the most vigilant.....then we come back to the part, "are we blinded by money, that we have forgotten our moral values" & the current generation of workers, very educated but highly inefficient.:rolleyes:
 

scroobal

Alfrescian
Loyal
Agree with you. It was such a respected institution around the World. The banks were dead scared and even DBS behaved themselves. I remember MAS stepped on DBS and removed dealers who screwed around with Sing/US pair by front running as they handled govt deals. And the Ang Mos also were dead scared. I remember once when Merrill Lynch's Filipino account manager who was well paid to bring in clients wanted to buy a landed property and the approval had to go to Commissioner of Land. The process was to direct to the industry sector oversight body for comments and for finance it was MAS. They basically said that she was not actually a banker but GRO and rejected the application. They then screwed Merrill Lynch over it.

You are right on this efficiency, had we gotten to the part now, we are so blinded by money that we have forgotten our moral values?. Monetary Authority Of Singapore or MAS for short has a lasting memory for me, as a tough, no nonsense authority , something in which you could trust & depend your life, on so to speak. Over the years, you mention MAS to anyone working in the financial & banking industries...it will send shivers down your spine & to receive directives from them, is akin to be receiving 'imperial edict', something you have to fulfil or you 'head gets chopped off'.

I am quite surprised that such a thing could happen to MAS..for they are to be the most vigilant.....then we come back to the part, "are we blinded by money, that we have forgotten our moral values" & the current generation of workers, very educated but highly inefficient.:rolleyes:
 

Satyr

Alfrescian
Loyal
It is not a question of control ... it is really a case of inefficiency. When smoke was first detected, pappies should have looked to see what caused the smoke and who was the culprit. Being inefficient, pappies decided that although got smoke but no fire, nothing to worry. Now MAS is the butt of sick jokes in the financial world.

Pappies are really nothing but bull shiters about being efficient and able to keep house in order. BSI has shown it takes only a few monkeys to make a humpty dumpty out of pappies.

Did they really want to be efficient on this ? Look around, suddenly riches poured into Singapore. Luxury homes, ferraris , glitzy events, all involving foreigners. They will only be efficient when they don't want to look bad.
 

scroobal

Alfrescian
Loyal
Note the business as usual comment by BSi.

http://www.todayonline.com/singapor...imilar&cid=tg:recos:similar:standard#cxrecs_s
BSI says business as usual despite transfer of assets

PUBLISHED: 8:44 PM, MAY 25, 2016UPDATED: 12:02 AM, MAY 26, 2016
SINGAPORE — Troubled Swiss bank BSI on Wednesday (May 25) clarified that it is business as usual amid a takeover that has been allowed to take place by the authorities.

Adding that the bank is in a “very comfortable position in terms of liquidity”, it said in a press statement: “The decision by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to withdraw the Bank’s status as a merchant bank will take place only at a future time ... BSI continues to operate as usual.”

On Tuesday, MAS announced that it has ordered Swiss private bank BSI to shut down its operations here, citing serious breaches of anti-money-laundering rules.

The central bank added that it was withdrawing BSI’s status as a merchant bank in the Republic and imposing S$13.3 million in fines on the bank for 41 breaches, including its failure to conduct due diligence on high-risk accounts and to monitor for suspicious customer transactions on an on-going basis.

In its statement on Wednesday, BSI noted MAS’ remarks that it would allow the transfer of BSI’s assets and liabilities to its parent bank, BSI SA, in Switzerland or the Singapore branch of rival Swiss bank EFG International.

EFG is in the midst of buying over BSI SA — an acquisition that was approved by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) on Tuesday even as Swiss authorities commenced criminal proceedings againt BSI SA.

The Singapore central bank also said that BSI “is solvent and has assets in excess of its liabilities and commitments”, BSI pointed out.

The Swiss bank reiterated that it is not affected by the financial penalties levied by MAS and FINMA as they will be paid by using the bank’s reserves for banking risks.

For a second day in a row, all was quiet at BSI’s main office in Suntec Tower One. Employees streaming in and out of the office continued to ignore reporters camped outside the office and declined to comment.

Responding to TODAY’s queries on how the bank’s staff would be affected by its impending closure, BSI said: “The bank is operating normally and we are focused on serving our clients and ensuring a smooth integration with EFG, in line with plans.” ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY LOUISA TANG
 

Papsmearer

Alfrescian (InfP) - Comp
Generous Asset
You are right on this efficiency, had we gotten to the part now, we are so blinded by money that we have forgotten our moral values?. Monetary Authority Of Singapore or MAS for short has a lasting memory for me, as a tough, no nonsense authority , something in which you could trust & depend your life, on so to speak. Over the years, you mention MAS to anyone working in the financial & banking industries...it will send shivers down your spine & to receive directives from them, is akin to be receiving 'imperial edict', something you have to fulfil or you 'head gets chopped off'.

I am quite surprised that such a thing could happen to MAS..for they are to be the most vigilant.....then we come back to the part, "are we blinded by money, that we have forgotten our moral values" & the current generation of workers, very educated but highly inefficient.:rolleyes:

The thing with MAS is like with any other Sinkie institution. There are 2 levels of standards in MAS, just like there are 2 levels of standards in the judicial system, and 2 levels of standard in the SPF, etc. If you are PAP elite, or connected or MIW, there is one standard for you, for everyone else, there is another standard.

People like Ravi Menon are the most dangerous, more so then even your SAF Scholars or PSC scholars parachuted into what ever stat boards or GLCs. SAF scholars for example. You can already predict them. They are shit useless in their new positions and depend on their immediate underlings to do the actual work as they are clueless having spend their whole career in the army. Hence, if you want to see how well a SAF scholar will do in his new post, you just look at the professionals under him. In the case of Desmond, those professionals under him were shit, as the real good ones had already been let go due to Saw's cost cutting measures. hence, predictably, SMRT performance under Desmond is crap.

In Ravi's case, he actually does have a banking and finance and econs background and checks all the boxes in regards to actual professional qualifications for his current post as MD for MAS. He was not a scholar, until his Master degree. Where he is scary is that he is a diehard PAP supporter. He has been this way since his RI days. He came from a very humble background, being brought up in a HDB flat, and was not born with a silver spoon. He thinks that all the success he has achieved in school, and during NS (he was a sword winner), etc was due to the policies of the PAP. If you talk to him during his pre-U days, he will fucking tell you to vote for the PAP at the upcoming elections!!! That is what he asked me to do. People like him are so psychologically damaged, that they almost have a subservient behaviour ala stockholm syndrome to the PAP. Everything the PAP does is right, no matter how eloquently you provide facts to dispute their policies. He has blinders on. This is the scary part. He has been made MD not because of his fantastic ability as a central banker, but his unflinching loyalty to the PAP. He is bright, no doubt about that. But his subjugation to PAP policies simply negate any logical or intellectual policies he may have. Most central bankers like the Chairman of the federal reserve is appointed for life. So, they are truly independent and are not reliant on currying favour with the ruling party to keep their jobs. this is where Ravi is dangerous. He will ignore the most logical and feasible course of action to follow whatever the PAP asks him to do, even if its against the better interest of singapore. And Ravi, unlike Desmond, is able to recognize a crap policy, but he will still go ahead and implement it anyway because he has been told to do so. Desmond is too stupid to know otherwise. Questions like "Should the sing dollar be kept strong", "should the interest rate remain at this level" etc. are all irrelevant. who to whack and who not to whack will also be told to him. Ravi for example has not yet explain how USD$680 million cash flow out of a sinkie bank to Najib's personal account. SOmeone told him to go ahead and process that transaction. Ravi will provide his input but in the end, he will go with whatever he is ordered to do.
 
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halsey02

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
Agree with you. It was such a respected institution around the World. The banks were dead scared and even DBS behaved themselves. I remember MAS stepped on DBS and removed dealers who screwed around with Sing/US pair by front running as they handled govt deals. And the Ang Mos also were dead scared. I remember once when Merrill Lynch's Filipino account manager who was well paid to bring in clients wanted to buy a landed property and the approval had to go to Commissioner of Land. The process was to direct to the industry sector oversight body for comments and for finance it was MAS. They basically said that she was not actually a banker but GRO and rejected the application. They then screwed Merrill Lynch over it.

Those who worked in the banking/finance sectors are 'dead scared' of MAS, even their directives over MASNET, over whatever medium they choose to send..is like receiving a directive from the "IMPERIAL COURT"...any dalliance or non-compliance...means...."off with your head"...your boss will give you an immediate "W.C.". aka walking certificate....I use to have my sets of books check everyday in case the dreaded MAS step in & want to see them....but, it seems like these days.....they are less potent & more muddle head.
 

scroobal

Alfrescian
Loyal
Look who the past MDs were and the picture comes clear.

Lim Kim San
Yong Pung How
JY Pillay
Lee Ek Tieng

All kickass personalities and all mind of their own. None of them will take shit from the Ang Mos including Ministers. Here we have 33 year kid in BSI screwing around the bank and he started do this in 2013.

Those who worked in the banking/finance sectors are 'dead scared' of MAS, even their directives over MASNET, over whatever medium they choose to send..is like receiving a directive from the "IMPERIAL COURT"...any dalliance or non-compliance...means...."off with your head"...your boss will give you an immediate "W.C.". aka walking certificate....I use to have my sets of books check everyday in case the dreaded MAS step in & want to see them....but, it seems like these days.....they are less potent & more muddle head.
 

aurvandil

Alfrescian
Loyal
The situation is similar to the current civil service where everyone jumps to the tune young Admin service officers who are sons/daughters of former Ministers, PS/DS etc.

No matter what mistakes these children make, they will never be called to account because of their white horse lineage.

This young man who briefly enjoyed money and power is unfortunately not a white horse but a Passover lamb fattened for ritual sacrifice. The tone of his correspondence suggests he did not know his purpose in life.

Here we have 33 year kid in BSI screwing around the bank and he started do this in 2013.
 
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