Singapore MAS Reaffirms Plans to Award Digital Bank Licenses by end-2020

​According to the updates from Bloomberg, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has reaffirmed its plans to award digital banking licenses by the end of the year, undeterred by tightening scrutiny in regional neighbor China and the U.S. that's hitting major Chinese applicants.

Ravi Menon, managing director of the MAS, said in an interview with Bloomberg ahead of the Lion City's annual fintech festival, "Regulatory tightening that's happening in China will not have an impact on the digital banks here."

The permits are much coveted by Chinese firms and others, given the city's status as a regional financial hub and rapidly growing wealth management center. Billionaire Jack Ma's Ant Group Co., among high-profile candidates vying for the permits, shelved its initial public offering after a clampdown and higher capital requirements imposed by Chinese regulators.

As many as five licenses will be awarded from a list of 14 eligible candidates.

Singapore has its own requirements for digital bank licenses that include the ability to provide good services with appropriate risk management, as well as a smooth exit strategy, Menon said, without confirming the identities of any applicants.

Asked whether government relationships would play a role in the regulator's decision making on digital-bank licenses, Menon ruled out any favoritism and said it is "strictly merit-based."

"We will not penalize banks from any country because of sanctions it might be under," he said. "We also don't give favorable treatment to banks from any country on account of good relations."