“When you look at the data for wealth management and private banking in Singapore, most of the growth has come from sources within Asia”, he said in the article by Central Banking Journal, adding that “the European share of private banking assets in Singapore has been relatively stable, despite stories you sometimes hear about funds being diverted to Asia.”
Menon said it was “not true” that as standards were being tightened in Europe, centres such as Switzerland, Luxembourg, Singapore and Hong Kong were likely to gain.
Singapore and Hong Kong met all the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) requirements, and in the last evaluation that Singapore underwent, it was among the top five global centres in compliance with FATF requirements.
But he also said Singapore was “in a sense playing catch-up” to meet ever evolving standards.
“We are conscious that we do not want a case where there is a flow of illicit funds from Europe to this part of the world. We are making sure that onboarding practices here are sound, and stepping up our own regime to keep pace with global developments.”
To read about how HM Revenue & Customs sent out another letter to UK holders of Swiss bank accounts warning that they must settle their liabilities, and giving them the option of using the Liechtenstein Disclosure Facility, click here.
