The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) today announced that it will not be extending the pause imposed on DBS Bank Ltd that was effective from 1 November 2023 to 30 April 2024, while the multiplier of 1.8 times to DBS Bank’s risk weighted assets for operational risk will be retained.

The six-month pause on DBS Bank’s non-essential activities was to ensure that the bank kept a sharp focus on restoring the resilience of its digital banking services. While full implementation of the remediation plan is still ongoing, MAS notes that DBS Bank has made substantive progress to address the shortcomings identified from service disruptions experienced by its customers in 2023. Improvements have been made to its technology risk governance, system resilience, change management, and incident management.

The remediation by DBS Bank will continue with some longer-term measures still being worked on, such as the continued simplification and strengthening of the bank’s systems architecture. DBS Bank has committed to prioritise resources and dedicate management attention to complete the outstanding remediation measures.

MAS says it will closely monitor DBS Bank’s progress on the remaining deliverables and the effectiveness of the measures implemented. In the event of service disruptions, MAS expects DBS Bank to promptly recover its services and communicate to its customers in a clear and timely manner.

The multiplier of 1.8 times will be lifted when MAS is satisfied that DBS Bank has demonstrated the ability to maintain service availability and reliability, and handle any disruptions effectively.