A “specified product” means a product that involves all of the following services:

– An account issuance service.
– A domestic money transfer service.
– An e-money issuance service.

The TCA aims to regulate financial institutions that provide trust services for investment and wealth management purposes, such as succession planning. Trust business activities regulated under the TCA are as follows:

– providing services with respect to the creation of an express trust.
– Acting as trustee in relation to an express trust.
– Arranging for any person to act as trustee in respect of an express trust.
– Providing trust administration services in relation to an express trust.

In reviewing an application for a trust business license, MAS will consider, inter alia, the following factors:

– Physical presence and management expertise of the applicant in Singapore.
– Financial soundness of the applicant and its parent company.
– Ability to meet the minimum financial requirements and professional indemnity insurance requirements prescribed under the TCR.
– Adequacy of internal compliance systems and processes of the applicant.
– Competence and integrity of the applicant.

The Board establishes a Nominating Committee (“NC”) to make recommendations to the Board on relevant matters relating to:

– The review of succession plans for directors, in particular the appointment and/or replacement of the Chairman, the CEO and key management personnel.
– The process and criteria for evaluation of the performance of the Board, its board committees and directors.
– The review of training and professional development programmes for the Board and its directors.
– The appointment and re-appointment of directors (including alternate directors, if any).

The Board has an Audit Committee (“AC”) which discharges its duties objectively. The duties of the AC include:

– Reviewing the significant financial reporting issues and judgments so as to ensure the integrity of the financial statements of the company and any announcements relating to the company’s financial performance.
– Reviewing at least annually the adequacy and effectiveness of the company’s internal controls and risk management systems.
– Reviewing the assurance from the CEO and the CFO on the financial records and financial statements.
– Making recommendations to the Board on the proposals to the shareholders on the appointment and removal of external auditors and the remuneration and terms of engagement of the external auditors.
– Reviewing the adequacy, effectiveness, independence, scope, and results of the external audit and the company’s internal audit function.
– Reviewing the policy and arrangements for concerns about possible improprieties in financial reporting or other matters to be safely raised, independently investigated and appropriately followed upon. The company publicly discloses, and clearly communicates to employees, the existence of a whistle-blowing policy and procedures for raising such concerns.

The company communicates regularly with its shareholders and facilitates the participation of shareholders during general meetings and other dialogues to allow shareholders to communicate their views on various matters affecting the company. The company is expected to make the following provisions:

– The company provides avenues for communication between the Board and all shareholders, and discloses in its annual report the steps taken to solicit and understand the views of shareholders.
– The company has in place an investor relations policy which allows for an ongoing exchange of views so as to actively engage and promote regular, effective and fair communication with shareholders.
– The company’s investor relations policy sets out the mechanism through which shareholders may contact the company with questions and through which the company may respond to such questions.

The Board adopts an inclusive approach by considering and balancing the needs and interests of material stakeholders, as part of its overall responsibility to ensure that the best interests of the company are served.
Provisions:
13.1 The company has arrangements in place to identify and engage with its material stakeholder groups and to manage its relationships with such groups.
13.2 The company discloses in its annual report its strategy and key areas of focus in relation to the management of stakeholder relationships during the reporting period.
13.3 The company maintains a current corporate website to communicate and engage with stakeholders.

According to the notice to holders of payment services license (specified payment services) monetary authority of Singapore act, CAP. 186, what does a connected party entail?

– In relation to a legal person (other than a partnership), means any director or any natural person having executive authority in the legal person.
– In relation to a legal person that is a partnership, it means any partner or manager.
– In relation to a legal arrangement, means any natural person having executive authority in the legal arrangement.

A licensed trust company incorporated in Singapore must at all times maintain a net asset value of not less than one-quarter of its relevant annual expenditure of the financial year immediately preceding the current financial year; or three-quarters of the minimum paid-up capital of $250,000, whichever is the higher amount.

A licensed trust company incorporated outside Singapore must at all times maintain qualifying assets in the branch in Singapore, of not less than one-quarter of its relevant annual expenditure of the financial year immediately preceding the current financial year; or the minimum qualifying assets of $250,000, whichever is the higher amount.

The TCA aims to regulate financial institutions that provide trust services for investment and wealth management purposes, such as succession planning. Trust business activities regulated under the TCA are as follows:

– Providing services with respect to the creation of an express trust.
– Acting as trustee in relation to an express trust.
– Arranging for any person to act as trustee in respect of an express trust.
– Providing trust administration services in relation to an express trust.

– There is a clear division of responsibilities between the leadership of the Board and Management, and no one individual has unfettered powers of decision-making.
– The Chairman and the Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) are separate persons to ensure an appropriate balance of power, increased accountability, and greater capacity of the Board for independent decision making.
– The Board establishes and sets out in writing the division of responsibilities between the Chairman and the CEO.
– The Board has a lead independent director to provide leadership in situations where the Chairman is conflicted, and especially when the Chairman is not independent. The lead independent director is available to shareholders where they have concerns and for which contact through the normal channels of communication with the Chairman or Management are inappropriate or inadequate.

The term FATF stands for the Financial Action Task Force. The FATF is an intergovernmental organization founded in 1989 on the initiative of the G7 to develop policies to combat money laundering. In 2001, its mandate was expanded to include terrorism financing.

The notice to holders of payment services license is based on the following principles, which shall serve as a guide for all payment service providers in the conduct of their operations and business activities:
– A payment service provider shall exercise due diligence when dealing with customers, natural persons appointed to act on the customer’s behalf, connected parties of the customer and beneficial owners of the customer.
– A payment service provider shall conduct its business in conformity with high ethical standards, and guard against establishing any business relations or undertaking any transaction, that is or may be connected with or may facilitate money laundering or terrorism financing.
– A payment service provider shall, to the fullest extent possible, assist and cooperate with the relevant law enforcement authorities in Singapore to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing.

The new TCA framework seeks the strong growth in the Singapore trust services by ensuring, among other things, that only fit and proper persons are allowed to operate in the trust services industry and that trust service providers observe rigorous anti-money laundering requirements.
The TCA is the Trust Companies Act.

The TCA aims to regulate financial institutions that provide trust services for investment and wealth management purposes, such as succession planning. Trust business activities regulated under the TCA are as follows:

– Providing services with respect to the creation of an express trust.
– Acting as trustee in relation to an express trust.
– Arranging for any person to act as trustee in respect of an express trust.
– Providing trust administration services in relation to an express trust.

The difference between the TCA and the Trustees Act (Cap. 337) are:

– The TCA is the legislative and regulatory framework for companies that are in the business of providing trust business services in Singapore, whether the trusts are established under Singapore law or other law. The framework sets out, among others, licensing requirements for persons conducting trust business in Singapore, fit and proper requirements for managers, directors and significant shareholders of trust companies, obligations with respect to the prevention of money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism and financial requirements for trust companies. The TCA is administered by MAS.
– The Trustees Act (Cap. 337) is the trust law in Singapore that provides the basic legislative framework for trustees of trusts established under Singapore law. The Trustees Act provides, among others, safeguards to ensure that trustees adhere to certain minimum standards when they exercise their trustee powers, and defines a duty of care for trustees when carrying out specified duties or acts. The Trustees Act is administered by the Ministry of Law.
– A trust company regulated by MAS under the TCA would also have to comply with the Trustees Act if it is acting as trustee of a trust established under Singapore law.

Persons exempt from holding a trust business license include:

– Banks and merchant banks regulated by MAS.
– Holders of a capital markets services license, or persons who are exempt from holding a capital markets services license for providing fund management or custodial services under the Securities and Futures Act (Cap. 289).
– Lawyers and accountants.
– Private trust companies.
– Overseas persons.
– Persons engaging in trust business in connection with the issuance of debentures.
– Trustees of collective investment schemes approved under the Securities and Futures Act (Cap. 289).
– Persons carrying out introducing activities.

According to the notice to holders of payment services license, a beneficiary institution means the financial institution that receives the wire transfer from the ordering institution, directly or through an intermediary institution, and makes the funds available to the wire transfer beneficiary.

A private trust company is defined in the Trust Companies (Exemption) Regulations as a corporation:

– The purpose of which is solely to provide trust business services in respect of a specific trust or of specific trusts where each settlor of such a trust is a connected person in relation to any other settlor of any other trust to which the corporation provides trust business services.
– The purpose of which is solely to provide trust business services in respect of a specific trust or of specific trusts where each beneficiary of such a trust is a connected person in relation to the settlor of that trust or a charity; and
– That does not solicit trust business from, or provide trust business services to the public.

MAS is likely to consider that the PII is adequate if:

– The annual PII cover is at least $1 million or 2.5 times the turnover (previous year’s turnover or, for new businesses, estimated turnover for the first year) of the trust business; whichever is the higher.
– The excess is not more than $10,000, where the annual PII cover is $1 million or not more than 3% of the turnover of the trust business, in any other case.

The Board establishes a Remuneration Committee (“RC”) to review and make recommendations to the Board on:
– A framework of remuneration for the Board and key management personnel.
– The specific remuneration packages for each director as well as for the key management personnel.

The Board determines the nature and extent of the significant risks which the company is willing to take in achieving its strategic objectives and value creation. The Board sets up a Board Risk Committee to specifically address this, if appropriate.
The Board requires and discloses in the company’s annual report that it has received assurance from:

– The CEO and the Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”) that the financial records have been properly maintained and the financial statements give a true and fair view of the company’s operations and finances.
– The CEO and other key management personnel who are responsible, regarding the adequacy and effectiveness of the company’s risk management and internal control systems.

Specified product means a product that involves all of the following services:

– An account issuance service.
– A domestic money transfer service.
– An e-money issuance service.

Specified payment service means any of the following payment services:

– An account issuance service.
– A domestic money transfer service.
– A cross-border money transfer service.
– A money-changing service.

A payment service provider shall take appropriate steps to identify, assess, and understand, its money laundering and terrorism financing risks in relation to:

– Its customers.
– The countries or jurisdictions its customers are from or in.
– The countries or jurisdictions the payment service provider has operations in.
– The products, services, transactions, and delivery channels of the payment service provider.

A payment service provider shall:

– Develop and implement policies, procedures and controls, which are approved by senior management, to enable the payment service provider to effectively manage and mitigate the risks that have been identified by the payment service provider or notified to it by the Authority or other relevant authorities in Singapore.
– Monitor the implementation of those policies, procedures and controls, and enhance them if necessary.
– Perform enhanced measures where higher risks are identified, to effectively manage and mitigate those higher risks.
– Ensure that the performance of measures or enhanced measures to effectively manage and mitigate the identified risks address the risk assessment and guidance from the Authority or other relevant authorities in Singapore.

A payment service provider shall identify and assess the money laundering and terrorism financing risks that may arise in relation to:

– The development of new products and new business practices, including new delivery mechanisms.
– The use of new or developing technologies for both new and pre-existing products.

A payment service provider shall complete verification of the identity of a customer, natural persons appointed to act on behalf of the customer and beneficial owners of the customer before:

– The payment service provider establishes business relations with the customer.
– The payment service provider effects or receives any funds by cross-border wire transfer for the customer, where the customer has not otherwise established business relations with the payment service provider.
– The payment service provider undertakes any transaction for the purposes of carrying on its business of providing cross-border money transfer service, for the customer, where the customer has not otherwise established business relations with the payment service provider.
– The payment service provider undertakes any transaction (except for a specified money-changing transaction where the money is funded from an identifiable source) of a value exceeding S$5,000 for the customer, where the customer has not otherwise established business relations with the payment service provider.

Customer, in relation to a payment service provider, means a person (whether a natural person, legal person or legal arrangement):

– With whom the payment service provider establishes or intends to establish business relations.
– For whom the payment service provider undertakes or intends to undertake any transaction without an account being opened;

A domestic wire transfer means a wire transfer where the ordering institution and beneficiary institution are located in the same country or jurisdiction and also refers to any chain of wire transfer that takes place entirely within a country, even though the system used to transfer the payment message may be located in another country or jurisdiction while a cross-border wire transfer means a wire transfer where the ordering institution and the beneficiary institution are located in different countries or jurisdictions and also refers to any chain of wire transfer in which at least one of the financial institutions involved is located in a different country or jurisdiction.