Banking in Singapore

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Banking in Singapore is a service industry that has grown significantly in recent years. Total banking assets under management in Singapore rose from about $92 billion in 1998 to about $350 billion in 2004.

Singapore has attracted assets formerly held in Swiss banks for several reasons, including new taxes imposed on Swiss accounts and a weakening of Swiss bank secrecy. Credit Suisse, the second largest Swiss bank, moved its head of international private banking to Singapore in 2005.

Tax evasion is illegal in Singapore; however, according to an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development official, Singaporean authorities tend to cooperate with other countries' tax authorities only when evasion of Singaporean taxes is involved.

The finance industry in Singapore is regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.