MAS mulls tighter ad rules for financial sector

As part of increasing corporate governance measures for the financial sector, the Monetary Authority of Singapore is considering tighter ad rules for structured products.The government body has told local news outlet The Straits Times that it is planning to roll out a public consultation on the proposals and guidelines.This is part of the government’s move to protect consumers from complex investment instruments, said the article.A key concern is that ads may be promising fast get-rich schemes or a guaranteed stipulated rate of return. No single incident has been highlighted as the trigger to this move by MAS.Currently, there is an Association of Banks in Singapore which monitors banking and financial advertisements ensuring that it is run in transparent manner in their ads. The association works with members to develop industry standards and guidelines in a range of areas relating to market conduct and performance.However, according to the article, the MAS seldom issues protocols on ads. MAS did not respond to requests for more details at the time of publishing.A structured deposit combines a deposit with an investment product, and its returns will depend on the performance of an underlying financial asset, product or benchmark.