Singapore Firms Should Start Reporting Efforts Ahead of MAS Deadline

The regulatory reporting deadline under the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is approaching in two weeks, and regtech firms are prompting financial companies to evaluate their reporting requirements before October 1, 2021.

The new MAS rules will require insurers, subsidiaries and other financial market licensees to report on activities with further asset classes. Though the deadline was initially set for last year, it was pushed by the regulator given the complications of the Covid-19 pandemic on businesses.

“With the deadline a matter of weeks away, our team wants to remind firms that they run a significant risk of non-Compliance if they have not already onboarded with DTCC or a third-party solution,” said Sophie Gerber, a Director at Sophie Grace and TRAction Fintech.

Onboarding Needs Time

Additionally, she stressed that companies must onboard with the only authorized trade repository, DTCC, and considers appointing a delegated reporting service provider, who may be able to help with the sometimes confusing DTCC forms.

MAS’ regulatory requirement now requires a wider scope of business to file regulatory reports. As most of these businesses are tackling regulatory reporting for the first time, it is advised that they start the process ahead of the deadline.

“The onboarding process will typically require one to two weeks, however, subject to your firm’s reporting Obligations and experience, this may differ. Moreover, once onboarded, the connection between your firm and DTCC must be tested to ensure files can be submitted successfully,” Gerber added.

Under Consultation

Despite the deadline, the MAS reporting regime remains under consultation, which seeks to align MAS reporting requirements for OTC derivatives transactions with the objectives and standards of other major jurisdictions subject to the G20 commitment on derivative reporting.

“The consultation proposes to standardize critical OTC derivatives data elements accordant with CPMI-IOSCO’s technical guidance,” Gerber explained. “Hence, TRAction warns firms who are prepared for the final phase of the MAS regime not to become complacent as further changes to the reportable data fields are expected to be finalized by Q2 2022. These amendments will require additional changes to firms’ systems and processes to ensure compliance with the regime. For example, implementing a globally unique product identifier (UPI) in derivative transaction reporting to identify the type of derivative that is the subject of the transaction.”