Here work is being done to achieve convergence – hitherto non-existent – between the accounting standards of the main economic areas. Also of great interest is the analysis of proposals for the proper valuation and classification of financial instruments, and for the development of a countercyclical provisioning system, similar to that in place in Spain. There is universal agreement that these improvements in regulation can hardly be successful unless they are implemented in a widespread and consistent manner. Hence the FSB is acting on several fronts to ensure the implementation of international standards, demanding greater commitment (and transparency) of the main economies in terms of compliance. In this respect, peer review exercises have begun and a major effort is being made to identify those areas in which the regulatory framework does not sufficiently recognise risks, placing particular emphasis on those institutions, instruments and markets which are not currently regulated or supervised. In addition to all these efforts in the field of regulation, work is ongoing to set in place more effective and uniform microprudential supervision of financial institutions. The financial crisis has revealed major supervisory failings in certain jurisdictions. In these cases supervision did not adapt sufficiently to the increasingly global nature of financial activities and it was not as intensive as would have been necessary. As a result, certain banks ultimately built up excessive risks, prompting public interventions with a high cost for taxpayers.
The network of trade unions and branches would provide the life insurance co-op with a clear advantage over private enterprise. 4. To ensure that the co-op would succeed, the realist in Dr Goh laid down a few principles for its operation. First, the co-op must be fully competitive with private enterprises and cannot expect privileged treatment from the Government. Second, the co-op must have effective management. Third, all levels of staff should be recruited based on merit and not affiliations with the labour movement or government. It was the steadfast adherence to these sound principles that has kept INCOME successful over the past 40 years. The growth of Singapore’s insurance industry 5. At INCOME’s 30th anniversary celebration, I had sketched out the changes in the global financial landscape, and how MAS had to liberalise the domestic insurance industry. Reputable foreign insurers were allowed to set up in Singapore or enter into strategic alliances with existing local insurers. The hope was for the entry of new players to engender competition, which would in turn promote greater innovation and raise the efficiency of the incumbent insurers. MAS also worked on deepening the local talent pool and fine-tuned the already prudent regulatory framework. 6. Ten years on, these efforts have yielded significant results. The Singapore insurance industry, which saw a number of acquisitions, consolidations and new entrants, experienced strong growth, with total assets tripling to $ over the past decade. The industry has also matured in terms of the breadth and depth of products and services offered.