[SINGAPORE] Banks play a critical role in helping companies as they adapt to a more protectionist global economic order, said Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, who is also minister for trade and industry, and chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
“While many businesses are pushing back against the new tariffs, once they have invested in the US, they will have an even greater incentive to ensure that these tariffs will stay on to protect their investments,” said DPM Gan at the Association of Banks in Singapore’s (ABS) 52nd annual dinner on Wednesday (Jun 23).
While the banks and financial institutions may not be directly affected by tariffs on goods, they may be hit by the slowdown in overall economic activity, including reduced trade-related financial services due to weaker trading activity, DPM Gan said.
Hence, banks need to help those companies, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, that may face cash flow issues due to cancelled or deferred orders as a result of the tariffs.
They should also deepen the relationship with their customers, by supporting their growth and expansion into new markets, he added.
As geo-economic disruptions are accelerating, other fundamental changes are also happening.
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Speaking on the low-carbon transition, DPM Gan noted the need to establish clear, consistent and credible guidelines to drive effective climate-financing action.
As a result, the Singapore Sustainable Finance Association will launch a guide to leverage the Singapore-Asia Taxonomy (SAT) to support green and transition financing.
The SAT was launched by MAS two years ago to facilitate transition financing, with clear, credible and science-based definitions of what constitutes green and transition activities.
The National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School will also be introducing an undergraduate specialisation in sustainable finance to strengthen the talent pipeline, DPM Gan said.
The specialisation will equip students with key sustainable finance technical skills and competencies identified by the Sustainable Finance Jobs Transformation Map. NUS intends to enrol about 50 students in each academic year in this programme at the onset, with aims to scale up over time.
“Even though some countries have rethought their climate commitments, particularly in light of the US pulling out of the Paris Accords, the pace of climate change has not slowed down and is, in fact, accelerating,” DPM Gan said.
Meanwhile, ABS chairman Helen Wong said at the dinner that Singapore will launch new Electronic Deferred Payment (EDP) solutions – EDP and EDP+ – at the end of July.
MAS and ABS previously said they would launch new EDP solutions in mid-2025 to support the transition to e-payments.
EDP and EDP+ complement the wider suite of e-payment methods, which will hopefully make for a smooth transition away from cheques, Wong said.
More details will be shared closer to the roll-out, she added.
CLG to consolidate national payment schemes
At the dinner, MAS and ABS also launched a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee (CLG), to consolidate the administration and governance of Singapore’s eight national payment schemes.
This follows an earlier announcement in February 2025 to consolidate the schemes, which includes Fast And Secure Transfers, the Inter-bank Giro system, PayNow and the Singapore Quick Response Code.
The schemes are currently administered and governed by specific scheme administrators, including the Singapore Clearing House Association, ABS, MAS and the Infocomm Media Development Authority.
Called the Singapore Payments Network (Span), the company will aim to be operationally ready by end-2026.
Its initial members include MAS and the domestic systemically important banks.
It will also have a 11-member board comprising two senior representatives from MAS, five bank and non-bank financial institutions, as well as four independent industry directors.
Chia Der Jiun, managing director of MAS, expects Span will set the foundation for the banking and payments industries to collaborate more effectively, to build and facilitate greater resilience and innovation across Singapore’s payment infrastructures.
