MAS Offers $35 Million Grant to Ease Regulatory Reporting for Smaller Financial Institutions

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has launched a S$35 million Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG) for the financial services sector to help smaller financial institutions adopt digital solutions for more streamlined data reporting to MAS.

Supported by the Financial Sector Development Fund, the grant is currently applicable to banks and will be subsequently expanded to include insurers and capital market intermediaries.

The PSG provides funding support for smaller financial institutions, no more than 200 employees, to adopt regulatory reporting solutions from pre-approved managed service providers.

These technologies will facilitate more efficient processes for the preparation and submission of data, in line with regulatory requirements. MAS has released an annex for the list of pre-approved managed service provider solutions.

The PSG will co-fund up to 30% of qualifying expenses for the adoption of digital solutions from the pre-approved managed service solution providers, capped at $250,000 per project for banks.

Eligible banks can now apply for funding via the Business Grants Portal which is a centralised portal for businesses to apply for government grants.

This grant is part of MAS’ recent initiatives to support smaller financial institutions in their efforts to improve productivity. Smaller financial institutions that wish to adopt digital solutions outside of regulatory reporting can also consider the Digital Acceleration Grant (DAG).

The Digital Acceleration Grant was launched in April 2020 to support the adoption of digital solutions to improve productivity, strengthen operational resilience, manage risks and serve customers better.

Mr Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief FinTech Officer, MAS said,

“The co-funding support for the adoption of regulatory reporting solutions will help smaller financial institutions leverage technology to better meet regulatory obligations. There are now a range of grant schemes specific to smaller financial institutions. Together, these schemes provide strong support for these financial institutions to adopt solutions that improve their operational capabilities in various domains.”