What is the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)? Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Review, Features

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is the central bank of Singapore. It was established in 1971 and combines many financial functions from banking to finance. Since its establishment, financial business has been executed and professionally managed by government departments.

About the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)

As Singapore continued to develop, the demands of increasingly complex banking and financial environments forced the country to reform its financial functions so that it could have more momentum for development and consistent financial policies. Therefore, Parliament passed the "MAS Act" in 1970, and the MAS was established on January 1, 1971. The Act empowers the MAS to operate and manage all matters related to Singapore's finance, banking system and finance.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is also entrusted with making laws regarding bankers and even the government's financial sector. It is also entrusted with promoting financial stability, setting credit and exchange policies and promoting economic growth. However, unlike many other central banks, such as the Federal Reserve System of the United States or the Bank of England, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) does not control finance by controlling interest rates and thus affecting market liquidity. Instead, it uses the foreign exchange mechanism to exercise control in the Singapore dollar market.

Objectives of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)

The objectives of the Monetary Authority of Singapore are to maintain monetary stability, maintain accelerated economic growth, and promote the establishment of financial institutions to help modernize the financial structure. The main tools used by the Monetary Authority to achieve the above objectives include rediscounting treasury bills and trade bills, and requiring liquidity ratios and minimum cash reserve ratios for the assets of financial institutions.

The Development History of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)

• Prior to 1970, the various monetary functions of Singapore's central bank were performed by a number of government departments and agencies. As Singapore rapidly developed, the bank became increasingly complex and sophisticated, and the required monetary environment required the government to streamline the various monetary functions of government agencies to ensure a more dynamic and coherent monetary policy.
• In 1970, the Singapore Parliament passed the Monetary Authority of Singapore Act. In January 1971, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) was established. The MAS Act gave the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) the power to regulate all aspects of currency, such as banking and all aspects of the financial sector in Singapore.
• In April 1977, the Singapore government decided that the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) would take over the supervision of Singapore's insurance industry. In September 1984, the securities industry supervision power granted by the Securities Industry Act passed in 1973 was also transferred to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).