MAS publishes circular on risk-proportionate source of wealth establishment; PBIG to enhance customer onboarding processes

29 June 2026

On 25 May 2026, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (“MAS”) issued a circular on Risk-Proportionate Source of Wealth Establishment (“Circular”). The Circular provides further guidance to financial institutions to avoid excessive measures and process steps to establish customers’ sources of wealth (“SOW”) that are disproportionate to MAS’ requirements and international standards. In addition, the Private Banking Industry Group (“PBIG”) announced that it has committed to enhance client onboarding practices to reduce account opening times for clients.

Circular

The Circular sets out the following guidance:

  • Focus on material or higher risk SOW:
    • Focus on corroborating SOW information that is more material or of higher risk. Avoid attempting to corroborate every single piece of SOW information.
  • Obtain relevant and pertinent information:
    • Consider whether existing information is already sufficient, if supplemented by alternative, reliable information or reasonable and relevant benchmarks to estimate the value of the customer’s wealth. Avoid unnecessary or unreasonable information requests (e.g. requesting for long dated financial or employment records).
    • Consider whether there is a risk-based justification (i.e. customer’s specific risk profile and circumstances) before seeking additional information. Avoid making multiple rounds of information requests that could unreasonably delay customer onboarding without clear risk-based justification.
  • Take measures appropriate to customer’s risk profiles:
    • Take measures which are relevant and proportionate to the SOW risks posed by the customer based on his risk profile and attributes. Avoid applying a one-size-fits-all approach to establishing a customer’s SOW.

Enhancements to client onboarding processes

On 25 May 2026, PBIG issued a set of Process Enhancement Tips on practical ways to address common client onboarding process-related challenges faced by banks. This initiative seeks to enhance client onboarding practices to reduce account opening times for most clients to within one month by end-2026, compared to the current industry median of five to six weeks and longer for more complex cases.

This and other upcoming initiatives will help improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the account opening process while continuing to uphold regulatory standards.

Reference materials

The following materials are available on the MAS website www.mas.gov.sg and the website of the Association of Banks in Singapore abs.org.sg: