5 There are three important enablers: a culture of fostering customers’ trust in the financial industry; strong market discipline that incentivises right behaviours; and adequate and timely public disclosures of pertinent information. Engendering trust in the financial industry 6 Let me start with the theme of trust. It was a decade ago that we had the Global Financial Crisis. With a suite of regulatory reforms that followed, the global financial system is generally safer and stronger. Just being safe is not good enough. A vibrant financial sector must be able to support the smooth functioning of credit and money flows. It should meet the savings, investment and insurance protection needs of the people. Investors on their part want to have the confidence that they are treated fairly by financial institutions and that their savings are safe. This is why building trust in our financial institutions is so important. That trust goes beyond doing what is legally required, to include what is good and what is right. 7 Some of you may have seen recent reports on the Royal Commission review in Australia that investigated widespread misconduct issues in its banking industry. Financial institutions in Singapore are generally well regarded. But we have our share of malpractices too, such as the mis-selling of Lehman Minibonds and other structured or complex products. 8 Financial institutions have a duty to act in the best interests of their customers. However, in our supervisory reviews, we have uncovered lapses in conduct.
Auditors have an important responsibility to perform checks on financial statements and provide assurance that these are reliable. Lawyers and consultants provide advice to help issuers ensure that their business dealings and corporate actions comply with laws and rules. Other professionals such as academia and financial journalists can also play a constructive role when they query or opine on matters relating to a listed company’s financial statements, strategy or governance. 22 So it is an ecosystem of many different stakeholders. There are other official agencies involved too. The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) regulates financial reporting, audits and auditors. ACRA has in place a Financial Reporting Surveillance Programme where it reviews financial statements to ascertain compliance with accounting standards, as well as the Practice Monitoring Programme where it inspects the public accountants for the quality of their audit work. 23 There is also the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) of the Singapore Police Force. CAD is Singapore’s principal white-collar crime investigation agency. Under the MAS-CAD joint investigation arrangement, MAS and CAD will jointly investigate offences to bring the full weight of our law against violations and abuses in our financial system. 24 While each regulatory or investigation agency has its distinct role, there is a shared responsibility in ensuring that the market is well-regulated, that corporate malfeasance is thoroughly investigated and that appropriate actions are taken against wrongdoers. 25 Some have asked why investigations into potential wrongdoings can take a long time. Let me explain.