PART 2 ESTABLISHMENT, CAPITAL AND
ADMINISTRATION OF AUTHORITY |
| Establishment of Authority |
3.—(1) An Authority called the Monetary Authority of Singapore is established, which is a body corporate having perpetual succession and which may sue and be sued in its own name.| (2) The Authority must have a common seal and the seal may be broken, changed, altered and made anew as to the Authority seems fit, and, until a seal is provided under this section, a stamp bearing the inscription “The Monetary Authority of Singapore” may be used as the common seal. |
| (3) All deeds, documents and other instruments requiring the seal of the Authority must be sealed with the common seal of the Authority, by the authority of the Authority, in the presence of the managing director and of some other person duly authorised by the Authority to act in that behalf and must be signed by the managing director and by such duly authorised person. |
| (3A) The managing director may, subject to such terms and conditions as the managing director thinks fit, appoint an officer of the Authority who holds the appointment of deputy managing director or its equivalent, to exercise the power and perform the duty of the managing director under subsection (3), and that officer must exercise that power and perform that duty under the direction and control of the managing director. [31/2017] |
(3B) To avoid doubt, the managing director —| (a) | remains responsible for the exercise of the power, and the performance of the duty, by the deputy managing director (or equivalent) delegated under subsection (3A); and | | (b) | may continue to exercise the power and perform the duty, despite the delegation under subsection (3A). [31/2017] |
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| (4) Such signing by the managing director or officer appointed by the managing director under subsection (3A) is sufficient evidence that the common seal of the Authority has been duly and properly affixed and that the seal is the lawful common seal of the Authority. [31/2017] |
| (5) The Authority may, by resolution or otherwise, appoint an officer of the Authority or any other agent either generally or in a particular case to execute or sign on behalf of the Authority any agreement or other instrument not under seal in relation to any matter coming within the powers of the Authority. |
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| Principal objects and functions of Authority |
4.—(1) The principal objects of the Authority are —| (a) | to maintain price stability conducive to sustainable growth of the economy; | | (b) | to foster a sound and reputable financial centre and to promote financial stability; | | (c) | to ensure prudent and effective management of the official foreign reserves of Singapore; and | | (d) | to grow Singapore as an internationally competitive financial centre. [13/2007; 9/2013] |
| (1A) The Authority, when giving effect to its objects under subsection (1), is to act on the basis that the object in paragraph (b) prevails over the object in paragraph (d) of that subsection. [31/2017] |
(2) The functions of the Authority are —| (a) | to act as the central bank of Singapore, conduct monetary policy, issue currency, oversee payment systems and serve as banker to and financial agent of the Government; | | (b) | to conduct integrated supervision of the financial services sector and financial stability surveillance; | | (c) | to manage the official foreign reserves of Singapore; and | | (d) | to develop Singapore as an international financial centre. [13/2007; 9/2013] |
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| 5.—(1) The paid-up capital of the Authority is to be $100 million. [21/2005] | (2) The paid-up capital may be revised from time to time by such amount as the Government and the board may agree. [31/2017] |
| (3) For the purpose of subsection (2), the board must consider the Authority’s capital and reserves necessary for the Authority to carry out its principal objects and functions. [31/2017] |
| (4) Any reduction of or increase in the paid-up capital may be effected by way of transfers to or from the General Reserve Fund, or by such other means as the Government and the board may from time to time agree. [31/2017] |
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6.—(1) There is to be a General Reserve Fund of the Authority.| (2) At the end of each financial year, the net profit of the Authority for that year is to be determined after allowing for the expenses of operation and after provision has been made for bad and doubtful debts, depreciation in assets, contributions to staff and pension funds and such other contingencies or purposes as the Authority may determine. [24/2003] |
| (3) Subject to subsection (4), such part of the net profit for each financial year as the Authority may determine must be paid to the Government and the remainder of the net profit (if any) must be credited to the General Reserve Fund. [24/2003] |
| (3A) Despite subsection (3), the Authority may pay to the Government such amount from the General Reserve Fund over and above the net profit (if any) as the Authority may determine. [24/2003] |
(4) Where the General Reserve Fund is in deficit at the end of a financial year —| (a) | if the Authority’s net profit for that financial year is larger than the deficit, an amount of not less than the net profit necessary to offset the deficit, as determined by the Authority, must be credited to the General Reserve Fund; and | | (b) | if the Authority’s net profit for that financial year is smaller than or equal to the deficit, the whole of the net profit must be credited to the General Reserve Fund. [31/2017] |
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| Transfer of Currency Fund to Authority’s accounts |
| 6A.—(1) For the purposes of section 21 of the Currency Act 1967, the Authority must, starting from 15 August 2017, commence transferring all of the assets (including external assets) and liabilities of the Currency Fund established under section 21(1) of the Currency Act 1967 as in force immediately before that date, to such of the accounts holding the Authority’s assets and liabilities as the Authority may determine. [31/2017] | (2) Upon the completion of the transfer mentioned in subsection (1), the Authority must publish a notification in the Gazette of the completion and the date of the completion. [31/2017] |
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7.—(1) There is to be a board of directors of the Authority which is responsible for the policy and general administration of the affairs and business of the Authority.| (2) The board must, from time to time, inform the Government of the regulatory, supervisory and monetary policies of the Authority. [13/2007] |
(3) The board consists of —| (a) | a chairperson who is to be appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Cabinet; and | | (b) | not less than 4 and not more than 13 other directors, one of whom is the deputy chairperson, appointed in accordance with sections 8 and 9. [9/2013] |
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| (4) The board must provide the Minister with such information as the Minister may require in respect of the duties and functions of the Authority. [13/2007] |
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8.—(1) The directors referred to in section 7(3)(b) are to be appointed by the President who, on the recommendation of the Minister, is also to appoint the deputy chairperson.(2) The directors so appointed —| (a) | must not act as delegates on the board from any commercial, financial, agricultural, industrial or other interests with which they may be connected; | | (b) | hold office for a term not exceeding 3 years and are eligible for re‑appointment; and | | (c) | may be paid by the Authority out of the funds of the Authority such remuneration and allowances as may be determined by the President. |
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| (3) Subsection (2)(b) and (c) does not apply to a director who is appointed managing director under section 9. |
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| Appointment of managing director |
9.—(1) The President, if he or she concurs with the advice or recommendation of the Public Service Commission, is to appoint one of the directors appointed under section 8 to be the managing director.| (2) The managing director must be an employee of the Authority on such terms and conditions of service as the President may decide. |
| (3) The managing director is entrusted with the day‑to‑day administration of the Authority, and may, subject to this Act, make decisions and exercise all powers and do all acts which may be exercised or done by the Authority under this Act or any other written law. [24/2003] |
| (4) The managing director is answerable to the board for his or her acts and decisions. |
(5) In the event of the absence or inability to act of the managing director, the Minister may appoint —| (a) | a director; or | | (b) | with the President’s concurrence, an officer of the Authority who holds the appointment of assistant managing director or its equivalent or above, |
| to discharge the duties of the managing director during the period of the managing director’s absence or inability to act. |
[13/2007] |
| (6) The managing director may, subject to such terms and conditions as the managing director thinks fit, appoint any officer or employee of the Authority, or form any committee comprising officers or employees of the Authority or both, to exercise any of the managing director’s powers or perform any of the managing director’s functions or duties conferred or imposed upon the managing director by virtue of subsection (3), and that officer, employee or committee must exercise those powers or perform those functions or duties under the direction and control of the managing director. [24/2003] |
(7) To avoid doubt, the managing director —| (a) | remains responsible for any exercise of his or her powers or any performance of his or her functions or duties by any officer or employee appointed or by any committee formed under subsection (6); and | | (b) | may continue to exercise his or her powers or perform his or her functions or duties conferred or imposed upon him or her by virtue of subsection (3), despite the delegation of the power, function or duty under subsection (6). [24/2003] |
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| Disqualification of directors |
10.—(1) No person may be appointed as or remain a director of the Authority who is a director or salaried official of any financial institution licensed or approved by the Authority under any written law.(2) The President may terminate the appointment of any director appointed under section 8(1) if the director —| (a) | resigns his or her office; | | (b) | has a mental disorder and becomes incapable of managing himself or herself or his or her affairs; | | (c) | becomes bankrupt or suspends payment to or compounds with his or her creditors; | | (d) | is convicted of an offence involving dishonesty or fraud or moral turpitude; | | (e) | is guilty of serious misconduct in relation to his or her duties; | | (f) | is absent, without leave, from 3 consecutive meetings of the board; or | | (g) | fails to comply with his or her obligations under section 13. [21/2008] |
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| Vacancies in office of director |
| 11. If any director appointed under section 8(1) dies or resigns or otherwise vacates his or her office before the expiry of the term for which he or she has been appointed, another person may be appointed by the President for the unexpired period of the term of office of the director in whose place the person is appointed. |
| 11A. The President, acting in his or her discretion, may refuse to appoint any person as chairperson, deputy chairperson, director or managing director or to revoke any such appointment if the President does not concur with the advice or recommendation of the Minister, the Cabinet, a Minister acting under the general authority of the Cabinet or the Public Service Commission (as the case may be) and may refuse to concur with an appointment by the Minister under section 9(5)(b). [13/2007] |
| Meetings and decisions of board |
12.—(1) The chairperson of the board may summon meetings as often as may be required but not less frequently than once in 3 months.| (2) At every meeting of the board, a quorum consists of 4 directors or a simple majority of the directors, whichever is the larger, and decisions are to be adopted by a simple majority of the votes of the directors present and voting except that in the case of an equality of votes the chairperson has a casting vote. |
| (3) To avoid doubt, a decision of the board may be made by way of a resolution passed by a simple majority of the directors by written or electronic means. [24/2003] |
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| Director’s interest in contract to be made known |
13.—(1) A director who is, directly or indirectly, interested in a contract made, or proposed to be made, by the Authority must disclose the nature of his or her interest at the first meeting of the board at which he or she is present after the relevant facts have come to his or her knowledge.(2) A disclosure under subsection (1) must be recorded in the minutes of the board and, after the disclosure, the director —| (a) | must not take part in any deliberation or decision of the board with respect to that contract; and | | (b) | must be disregarded for the purpose of constituting a quorum of the board for any such deliberation or decision. |
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| (3) No act or proceeding of the board may be questioned on the ground that a director has contravened this section. |
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| Appointment of committees and delegation of powers |
| 13A.—(1) The Authority may appoint from among its directors or other persons who are not directors any number of committees that it thinks fit for purposes which, in the opinion of the Authority, would be better regulated and managed by means of those committees. [24/2003] | (2) The Authority may, subject to such conditions or restrictions as it thinks fit, delegate to any such committee or any director any of the powers, functions or duties of the Authority under this Act or any other written law, except the power of delegation conferred by this subsection and the power to make subsidiary legislation unless expressly provided under any written law. [24/2003] |
| (3) Any power, function or duty delegated under subsection (2) may be exercised or performed by such committee or director (as the case may be) in the name and on behalf of the Authority. [24/2003] |
| (4) The Authority may continue to exercise a power conferred upon it, or perform a function or duty under this Act or any other written law, despite the delegation of the power, function or duty under this section. [24/2003] |
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| Appointment of assistants |
| 13B.—(1) The Authority may appoint any person to exercise any of its powers or perform any of its functions or duties under this Act, either generally or in any particular case, except the power of appointment conferred by this subsection, the power of delegation conferred by section 13A(2) and the power to make subsidiary legislation. [9/2013] | (2) Any person appointed by the Authority under subsection (1) is deemed to be a public servant for the purposes of the Penal Code 1871. [9/2013] |
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| Interpretation of sections 14A, 14B and 14C |
14. In sections 14A, 14B and 14C —“gain” means —| (a) | a gain in property or a supply of services, whether temporary or permanent; or | | (b) | an opportunity to earn remuneration or greater remuneration or to gain a financial advantage otherwise than by way of remuneration; |
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| “generally available information” means information that consists of readily observable matter, including information that consists of deductions, conclusions or inferences made or drawn from readily observable matter; |
“harm”, in relation to an individual, means —| (a) | any physical harm; or | | (b) | harassment, alarm or distress caused to the individual; |
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“loss” means —| (a) | a loss in property or a supply of services, whether temporary or permanent; or | | (b) | a loss of an opportunity to earn remuneration or greater remuneration or to gain a financial advantage otherwise than by way of remuneration, |
| but excludes, in relation to an individual, the loss of personal data about the individual; |
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| “personal data” has the meaning given by section 2(1) of the Personal Data Protection Act 2012; |
| “prescribed circumstances” or “prescribed purpose” means any circumstances or purpose prescribed in regulations made under section 14D. [40/2020] |
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| 14A.—(1) Subject to subsection (3), an individual who is or has been a director or an officer or employee of the Authority must not disclose to any person any information which the individual acquired in the performance of the individual’s duties or the exercise of the individual’s functions. [40/2020] (2) Subject to subsection (3), a person who is or has been —| (a) | a contractor supplying goods or services to the Authority; | | (b) | a consultant or an agent of the Authority; or | | (c) | an employee of a person mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b), |
| must not disclose to any other person any information (other than personal data about an individual) which the firstmentioned person acquired in the performance of that person’s duties or the exercise of that person’s functions. |
[40/2020] |
(3) Subsection (1) or (2) does not apply if the individual or person (as the case may be) (P) discloses the information concerned —| (a) | for the purpose of performing P’s duties or exercising P’s functions; | | (b) | as authorised by the Authority; | | (c) | as permitted or required by or under any written law; | | (d) | as authorised or required under an order of court; or | | (e) | in any other prescribed circumstances or for any other prescribed purpose. [40/2020] |
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| (4) To avoid doubt, subsection (3) does not affect any obligation or limitation imposed on, or prohibition of, the disclosure of personal data in the possession or under the control of the Authority by or under any other written law or other law. [40/2020] |
| (5) An individual who contravenes subsection (1), or a person who contravenes subsection (2), shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both. [40/2020] |
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| Improper use of information |
14B.—(1) If —| (a) | an individual makes use of any information in the possession or under the control of the Authority which the individual acquired in the performance of the individual’s duties or the exercise of the individual’s functions; | | (b) | the use is not authorised by the Authority; | | (c) | the individual is or has been a director or an officer or employee of the Authority; | | (d) | the individual does so —| (i) | knowing that the use is not authorised by the Authority; or | | (ii) | reckless as to whether the use is or is not authorised by the Authority; and |
| | (e) | the individual, as a result of that use —| (i) | obtains a gain for the individual or another person; | | (ii) | causes harm to another individual; or | | (iii) | causes a loss to another person, |
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| the individual shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both. |
[40/2020] (2) If —| (a) | a person makes use of information (other than personal data about an individual) in the possession or under the control of the Authority which the person acquired in the performance of the person’s duties or the exercise of the person’s functions; | | (b) | the use is not authorised by the Authority; | | (c) | the person is or has been —| (i) | a contractor supplying goods or services to the Authority; | | (ii) | a consultant or an agent of the Authority; or | | (iii) | an individual who is an employee of a person mentioned in sub‑paragraph (i) or (ii); |
| | (d) | the person does so —| (i) | knowing that the use is not authorised by the Authority; or | | (ii) | reckless as to whether the use is or is not authorised by the Authority; and |
| | (e) | the person, as a result of that use —| (i) | obtains a gain for the person or another person; | | (ii) | causes harm to an individual; or | | (iii) | causes a loss to another person, |
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| the person shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both. |
[40/2020] |
(3) In proceedings for an offence under subsection (1) or (2), it is a defence to the charge for the defendant to prove, on a balance of probabilities, any of the following:| (a) | that the information in the possession or under the control of the Authority was, at the time of its use by the defendant, generally available information; | | (b) | the defendant used the information in the possession or under the control of the Authority —| (i) | as permitted or required by or under an Act or other law; | | (ii) | as authorised or required by an order of court; or | | (iii) | in any other prescribed circumstances or for any other prescribed purpose. [40/2020] |
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| (4) To avoid doubt, subsection (3) does not affect any obligation or limitation imposed on, or prohibition of, the use of personal data in the possession or under the control of the Authority by or under any other written law or other law. [40/2020] |
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| Unauthorised re-identification of anonymised information |
14C.—(1) If —| (a) | an individual takes any action to re‑identify or cause re‑identification of a person to whom anonymised information in the possession or under the control of the Authority relates (called in this section the affected person); | | (b) | the re‑identification is not authorised by the Authority; | | (c) | the individual is or has been a director or an officer or employee of the Authority; and | | (d) | the individual does so —| (i) | knowing that the re‑identification is not authorised by the Authority; or | | (ii) | reckless as to whether the re‑identification is or is not authorised by the Authority, |
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| the individual shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both. |
[40/2020] (2) In proceedings for an offence under subsection (1), it is a defence to the charge for the defendant to prove, on a balance of probabilities, any of the following:| (a) | that the information on the identity of the affected person is publicly available; | | (b) | the action to re‑identify or cause re‑identification is —| (i) | permitted or required by or under an Act or other law; | | (ii) | authorised or required by an order of court; or | | (iii) | in any other prescribed circumstances or for any other prescribed purpose; |
| | (c) | the defendant —| (i) | reasonably believed that the re‑identification was for a specified purpose; and | | (ii) | notified the Authority of the re‑identification as soon as was practicable. [40/2020] |
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| (3) To avoid doubt, subsection (2) does not affect any obligation or limitation imposed on, or prohibition of, the re‑identification of the affected person by or under any other written law or other law. [40/2020] |
(4) In this section —| “anonymised information” means any information which is in anonymised or de‑identified form; |
| “specified purpose” means any purpose specified in the Eleventh Schedule to the Personal Data Protection Act 2012. [40/2020] |
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| Power of Authority to make regulations for sections 14A, 14B and 14C |
| 14D. The Authority may make regulations to prescribe anything which may be prescribed for the purposes of sections 14A, 14B and 14C. [40/2020] |
| Remuneration not to be related to profits |
| 15. No salary, fee, wage or other remuneration or allowance paid by the Authority is to be computed by reference to the profits of the Authority. |
| Public servants and public officers |
| 16.—(1) The directors, including the managing director, and the officers and employees of the Authority of every description are deemed to be public servants within the meaning of the Penal Code 1871. [9/2013] | (2) The directors, including the managing director, and the officers and employees of the Authority are, in relation to their administration, collection and enforcement of payment of any moneys to be paid to or into the Consolidated Fund under this Act or any of the written laws set out in the Schedule, deemed to be public officers for the purposes of the Financial Procedure Act 1966, and section 20 of that Act applies to such persons even though they are not or were not in the employment of the Government. [9/2013] |
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