Monetary Authority of Singapore

Monetary Authority of Singapore

Logo of MAS
Headquarters	10 Shenton Way MAS Building, Singapore 079117
Established	1971
Chairman	Tharman Shanmugaratnam
Central bank of	Singapore
Currency	Singapore dollar SGD (ISO 4217)
Reserves	US$273.1 billion
Bank rate	5.35%
Website	http://www.mas.gov.sg

Monetary Authority of Singapore

Agency overview
Formed	1971
Preceding agency	Board of Commissioners of Currency
Jurisdiction	Government of Singapore
Headquarters	10 Shenton Way MAS Building, Singapore 079117
Minister responsible	Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Deputy Prime Minister
Agency executive	Ravi Menon, Managing Director
Parent agency	Prime Minister's Office
Website	www.mas.gov.sg

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (Abbreviation: MAS; Chinese: 新加坡金融管理局; Malay: Penguasa Kewangan Singapura) is Singapore's central bank and financial regulatory authority. It administers the various statutes pertaining to money, banking, insurance, securities and the financial sector in general, as well as currency issuance.

History

The MAS was founded in 1971 to oversee various monetary functions associated with banking and finance. Before its establishment, monetary functions were performed by government departments and agencies.

As Singapore progressed, an increasingly complex banking and monetary environment required more dynamic and coherent monetary administration. Therefore, in 1970, the Parliament of Singapore passed the Monetary Authority of Singapore Act leading to the formation of MAS on 1 January 1971. The act gives MAS the authority to regulate all elements of monetary policy, banking, and finance in Singapore.

List of Chairmen

Jan 1971 - Jul 1980 Hon Sui Sen

Aug 1980 - Jan 1985 Goh Keng Swee

Jan 1985 - Dec 1997 Richard Hu

Jan 1998 - Aug 2004 Lee Hsien Loong

Aug 2004 - May 2011 Goh Chok Tong

May 2011 – Present Tharman Shanmugaratnam

Responsibilities

In April 1977, the Government decided to bring the regulation of the insurance industry under the wing of the MAS and in September 1984 the regulatory functions under the Securities Industry Act (1973) were also transferred to MAS. This means that unlike many other central banks, MAS is also the financial regulatory authority for Singapore.

The MAS has been given powers to act as a banker to, and financial agent of, the Government. It has also been entrusted to promote monetary stability, and credit and exchange policies conducive to the growth of the economy.

Tools

However, unlike many other central banks such as Federal Reserve System or Bank of England, MAS does not regulate the monetary system via interest rates to influence the liquidity in the system. Instead, it chooses to do it via the foreign exchange mechanism. It does so by intervening in the SGD market.

Issuing Banknotes and Coins

Following its merger with the Board of Commissioners of Currency on 1 October 2002, the MAS assumed the function of currency issuance.

MAS has the exclusive right to issue banknotes and coins in the Republic of Singapore. Their dimensions, designs and denominations are determined by the Monetary Policy Committee with Government approval. The banknotes and coins thus issued have the status of legal tender within the country for all transactions, both public and private, without limitation.

See also

• Securities Commission
• Central bank
• Singapore dollar

External links

• Monetary Authority of Singapore