Singapore FIs face stricter regulatory scrutiny in 2025

Singapore bucked the trend in 2024, with more fines issued.

Financial institutions (FIs) in Singapore should brace for stricter compliance measures and regulatory actions in 2025, which can lead to more fines being issued, according to Fenergo.

FIs in the city faced 22% more in regulatory fines in 2024 compared to the previous year as authorities ramped up enforcement.

The total value of regulatory fines issued rose to US$3.28m in 2024, from US$2.68m in 2023, according to data from digital solutions provider Fenergo.

“Learning from the financial scandals in late 2023, and with the formation of private-public partnerships such as COSMIC Singapore regulators and Finance Intelligence Units (FIUs) now have access to more data. This allows them to identify issues more efficiently, and act more quickly in cracking down or mitigating breaches from occurring,” said Rory Doyle, head of financial crime policy at Fenergo.

Singapore bucked the global trend, which saw financial fines drop by 30% in 2024. The APAC region saw total penalty value almost have, dropping to $32.1m.

Tightened compliance measures and enforcement actions have brought steady increases in fines in Singapore, according to Fenergo.

The rise in fines was also due to  increased technology adoption by regulatory bodies and subsequent efficiency gains.

Most fines in Singapore were due to AML/KYC and transaction monitoring breaches. Transaction monitoring violations also dominated the global landscape in 2024, with a total of US$3.3b in fines issued.

ESG is an emerging area globally, with US$37.69m in fines issued worldwide.