MAS consults on revised biannual report and implementation timeline for proposed complaints handling and resolution regulations

27 September 2019

On 26 August 2019, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (“MAS”) issued a consultation paper titled “Revised Biannual Report and Implementation Timeline for Complaints Handling and Resolution Regulations” (“2019 consultation”). The 2019 consultation is an extension of a public consultation launched on 30 September 2013 (“2013 consultation”) to seek feedback on the draft Financial Advisers (Complaints Handling and Resolution) Regulations 2013 (“draft Regulations”).

The draft Regulations seek to effect the policy proposals on complaints handling and resolution (“CHR”) which include the requirements for financial advisers
(“FA firms”) to:

  • establish a process for handling and resolving complaints from retail clients which is independent and prompt;
  • designate a senior management member or committee comprising senior management member(s) within the firm to be responsible for the oversight of compliance with regulatory requirements on CHR;
  • ensure that information on their complaints handling and resolution processes is publicly available;
  • put in place a centralised management system for complaints; and
  • report their complaints data to MAS on a biannual basis (“biannual report”).

Revised format and implementation timeline

The 2019 consultation seeks additional feedback on a revised format for the biannual report and the proposed implementation timeline under the draft Regulations. The proposed format of the biannual report and the required data items under the draft Regulations have been revised to adhere to new data collection standards and views on this are sought in the 2019 consultation.

Additionally, MAS is seeking comments on the proposed implementation timeline for the data submission. The target date for publication of the draft Regulations is Q1 2020. FA firms will be required to submit their biannual complaints reports within 10 weeks from the end of the second and fourth quarter of each calendar year. The first report to be submitted will be for the period 1 July 2020 to 31 December 2020.

The consultation closes on 30 September 2019.

Reference materials

The following materials are available from the MAS website www.mas.gov.sg:

 

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