Commercial banks
Commercial banks in Singapore may undertake universal banking, such as the taking of deposits and the provision of cheque services and lending, as well any other business authorised by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, including financial advisory services, insurance brokering and capital market services, as long as they are permitted under section 30 of the Banking Act. Since July 2001, banks were no longer permitted to engage in non-financial activities.
Local banks
In a bid to encourage consolidation of the local banking industry to form larger banking congolmerates better able to regionalise and compete with foreign banks, the government liberalised the banking sector by awarding greater liberty for foreign banks to operate in Singapore in 2001. Since then, the number of local full banks has shrunk by more than half to 6 today.
Full banks
There are presently 6 locally-incorporated full banks in Singapore, owned by three banking groups. These full banks have the liberty to provide any financial service as permitted by the Banking Act.
Local Full Bank EFA Incorporated in Local address ACU SGS
English Other languages
Bank of Singapore Yes Singapore 63 Market Street Yes No
Singapore Island Bank Limited (part of OCBC) Yes Singapore 65 Chulia Street Yes No
DBS Bank Limited Yes Singapore 6 Shenton Way Yes Pri
Far Eastern Bank Limited No Singapore 156 Cecil Street No No
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited Yes Singapore 65 Chulia Street Yes Pri
United Overseas Bank Limited Yes Singapore 80 Raffles Place Yes Pri
The Islamic Bank of Asia No Singapore 6 Shenton Way Yes No
Defunct banks
Local Defunct Bank Incorporated in Closed Fate
English Other languages
Overseas Union Bank Limited Singapore 2002 Merged into United Overseas Bank
Keppel Bank Limited Singapore 1998 Merged with Keppel Tat Lee Bank
Tat Lee Bank Limited Singapore 1998 Merged with Keppel Tat Lee Bank
Keppel TatLee Bank Limited Singapore 2001 Merged into Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation
Industrial and Commercial Bank Limited Singapore 2002 Merged into United Overseas Bank
International Bank of Singapore Singapore - Merged into Overseas Union Bank
Foreign banks
There are presently 106 foreign commercial banks in Singapore, of which 24 are Full banks, 40 are Wholesale banks, and 42 are Offshore banks.
Full banks
Although foreign banks with full bank licences can also offer most commercial banking services to clients compared to local banks, they are restricted in terms of number of branches and automated teller machines.
Foreign full Bank EFA Incorporated in Local address ACU SGS
English Local language
American Express Bank Limited (Now under Standard Chartered Bank) Yes United States 16 Collyer Quay Yes No
Bangkok Bank Public Company Limited No Thailand 180 Cecil Street Yes No
Bank of America, National Association Yes United States 9 Raffles Place Yes Pri
Bank of China Limited Yes People's Republic of China 4 Battery Road Yes Sec
Bank of East Asia Limited, The Yes Hong Kong SAR 137 Market Street Yes No
Bank of India Yes India 138 Robinson Road Yes No
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi Limited, The Yes Japan 9 Raffles Place Yes Sec
Calyon Yes France 168 Robinson Road Yes Sec
Citibank, National Association Yes United States 3 Temasek Avenue Yes Pri
Hong Leong Bank Berhad Yes Malaysia 20 Collyer Quay Yes No
Indian Bank No India 3 Raffles Place No No
Indian Overseas Bank No India 64 Cecil Street No No
JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association Yes United States 168 Robinson Road Yes Sec
PT Bank Negara Indonesia (Persero) Tbk. No Indonesia 39 Robinson Road Yes No
RHB Bank Berhad Yes Malaysia 90 Cecil Street Yes Sec
Southern Bank Berhad **Now CIMB Bank No Malaysia 39 Robinson Road No No
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Yes Japan 3 Temasek Avenue Yes No
UCO Bank No India 3 Raffles Place No No
Qualifying full banks
Liberalisation of the banking sector saw the government creating a new category under the foreign banks category, called the Qualifying Full Bank (QFB). The first four licences were awarded on 20 October 1999 to ABN AMRO, Banque Nationale De Paris (now BNP Paribas), Citibank (transferred to newly locally-incorporated Citibank Singapore on 28 June 2004) and Standard Chartered Bank. Two new licences were issued in December 2001 as part of the second phase of bank liberalisation, namely to the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation and Malayan Banking. These QFBs are permitted to operate up to 15 service locations.
In June 2004, the QFB license was further liberalised. QFBs are permitted to establish up to 25 service locations of which up to 10 can be branches from 1 January 2005. These banks were permitted to share their ATM networks (this was achieved with five of the QFBs through atm5), and provide services via the EFTPOS network from 1 July 2002. On the same day, they are also permitted to provide the Central Provident Fund's Supplementary Retirement Scheme and Investment Scheme accounts and to accept CPF fixed deposits.
Qualifying Full Bank EFA Incorporated in Local address ACU SGS
English Local language
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited Yes Australia Raffles Place Yes Pri
BNP Paribas Yes France 20 Collyer Quay Yes No
Citibank International Personal Bank Singapore (Citibank Singapore Limited) Yes Singapore 23 Church Street Yes Yes
Citibank Singapore Limited Yes Singapore 3 Temasek Avenue Yes No
HSBC Yes Hong Kong, China 21 Collyer Quay Yes Pri
Malayan Banking Berhad MayBank Yes Malaysia 2 Battery Road Yes Sec
Standard Chartered Bank Yes United Kingdom 6 Battery Road Yes Pri
State Bank of India India 135Cecil Street Yes Yes
ICICI Bank Limited Yes India 9 Raffles Place Yes No
Wholesale banks
Wholesale bank licenses were first issued in December 2001 to replace the "Restricted Bank (RB)" license as a reflection of greater services which may be conducted by these banks. These banks may conduct the same range of services as full banks, except that they do not deal with banking activities in the Singapore Dollar, and can only have one main branch.
wholesale Bank EFA Incorporated in Local address SGS
English Local language
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited Yes Australia 1 Raffles Place Sec
Scotiabank No Canada 10 Collyer Quay No
Barclays Bank PLC Yes United Kingdom 1 Raffles Quay Pri
Bayerische Hypo-und Vereinsbank Aktiengesellschaft Yes Germany 30 Cecil Street No
BNP Paribas Private Bank Yes France 20 Collyer Quay No
Chiao Tung Bank Company Limited No Republic of China 80 Raffles Place No
Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft Yes Germany 8 Shenton Way Sec
Credit Suisse Yes Switzerland 1 Raffles Link Pri
Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft Yes Germany 6 Shenton Way Pri
Dresdner Bank Aktiengesellschaft Yes Germany 20 Collyer Quay Sec
First Commercial Bank Limited No Republic of China 77 Robinson Road No
Fortis Bank S.A./N.V. Yes Belgium & the Netherlands 63 Market Street Sec
Habib Bank Limited No Pakistan 3 Phillip Street No
HSBC Private Bank (Suisse) SA Yes Switzerland 21 Collyer Quay Sec
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China No People's Republic of China 6 Raffles Quay No
ING Bank N.V. Yes the Netherlands 9 Raffles Place Sec
KBC Bank N.V. Yes Belgium 30 Cecil Street No
Korea Exchange Bank No South Korea 30 Cecil Street No
Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg Yes Germany 25 International Business Park No
Mizuho Corporate Bank Limited Yes Japan 168 Robinson Road No
Moscow Narodny Bank Limited No United Kingdom 50 Robinson Road No
National Australia Bank Limited Yes Australia 5 Temasek Boulevard No
National Bank of Kuwait SAK No Kuwait 9 Raffles Place No
Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale No Germany 6 Shenton Way No
Northern Trust Company, The Yes United States 1 George Street No
Rabobank Yes the Netherlands 77 Robinson Road No
Royal Bank of Scotland PLC, The Yes United Kingdom 50 Raffles Place No
Sanpaolo IMI S.P.A. No Italy 6 Temasek Boulevard Sec
Société Générale Yes France 80 Robinson Road Sec
State Street Bank and Trust Company No United States 168 Robinson Road No
UBS AG Yes Switzerland 5 Temasek Boulevard Sec
UFJ Bank Limited UFJ Yes Japan 6 Raffles Quay No
WestLB Aktiengesellschaft No Germany 3 Temasek Avenue Sec
Offshore banks
offshore Bank EFA Incorporated in Local address ACU SGS
English Local language
Absa Group Limited No South Africa 9 Temasek Boulevard Yes No
Agricultural Bank of China No People's Republic of China 80 Raffles Place Yes No
Arab Bank PLC No Jordan 80 Raffles Place Yes No
Banco di Roma S.P.A. No Italy 9 Raffles Place Yes No
Banca Monte Dei Paschi di Siena S.P.A. No Italy 10 Collyer Quay No No
Bank of Communications No People's Republic of China 50 Raffles Place Yes No
Bank of New York Mellon, The No United States 1 Temasek Avenue Yes No
Bank of Taiwan No Republic of China 80 Raffles Place Yes No
Bumiputra-Commerce Bank Berhad **Now CIMB Bank No Malaysia 7 Temasek Boulevard Yes No
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Yes Canada 16 Collyer Quay Yes No
Chang Hwa Commercial Bank Limited No Republic of China 1 Finlayson Green Yes No
China Construction Bank Corporation No People's Republic of China 9 Raffles Place Yes No
Chohung Bank No South Korea 50 Raffles Place Yes No
Clariden Leu No Switzerland 80 Raffles Place Yes No
Commonwealth Bank of Australia Yes Australia 3 Temasek Avenue Yes No
Crédit Agrocole (SUISSE) SA Yes Switzerland 168 Robinson Road Yes No
Crédit Industriel et Commercial Yes France 63 Market Street Yes No
Dexia Banque Internationale à Luxembourg SA Yes Luxembourg 9 Raffles Place Yes No
Dnb NOR Bank ASA No Norway 8 Shenton Way Yes No
DZ Bank AG Singapore Branch No Germany 50 Raffles Place Yes No
Hana Bank No South Korea 8 Cross Street Yes No
Hang Seng Bank Limited No Hong Kong, China 21 Collyer Quay Yes No
HSH Nordbank AG No Germany 3 Temasek Avenue Yes No
Hua Nan Commercial Bank Limited No Republic of China 80 Robinson Road Yes No
International Commercial Bank of China, The No Republic of China 6 Battery Road Yes No
Korea Development Bank, The No South Korea 8 Shenton Way Yes No
Krung Thai Bank Public Company Limited . No Thailand 65 Chulia Street Yes No
Land Bank of Taiwan No Republic of China 80 Raffles Place Yes No
Lloyds TSB Bank plc Yes United Kingdom 1 Temasek Avenue Yes No
Mitsubishi Trust and Banking Corporation, The Yes Japan 50 Raffles Place Yes No
Natixis No France 50 Raffles Place Yes No
Nordea Bank Finland PLC, Singapore Branch Yes Finland 3 Anson Road Yes No
Norinchukin Bank, The No Japan 80 Raffles Place Yes No
Philippine National Bank No Philippines 304 Orchard Road Yes No
PT Bank Mandiri (persero) Tbk. No Indonesia 3 Anson Road Yes No
Raiffeisen Zentralbank Oesterreich AG No Austria One Raffles Quay Yes No
Royal Bank of Canada Yes Canada 20 Raffles Place Yes Sec
Siam Commercial Bank Public Company Limited, The No Thailand 16 Collyer Quay Yes No
Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB Yes Sweden 50 Raffles Place Yes No
State Bank of India No India 135 Cecil Street Yes No}
Sumitomo Trust and Banking Company Limited, The Yes Japan 8 Shenton Way Yes No
Svenska Handelsbanken AB No Sweden 65 Chulia Street Yes No
Toronto Dominion Bank, The Yes Canada 1 Temasek Avenue Yes No
Union de Banques Arabes et Francaises No France 6 Temasek Boulevard Yes No
Westpac Banking Corporation Yes Australia 77 Robinson Road Yes No
Woori Bank No South Korea 5 Shenton Way Yes No
Merchant banks
The typical activities of merchant banks include corporate finance, underwriting of share and bond issues, mergers and acquisitions, portfolio investment management, management consultancy, personal banking and other fee-based activities. merchant banks may not accept sight or savings deposits or borrow from the public. However they may accept deposits or borrow from banks, finance companies, shareholders and companies controlled by their shareholders.
Economy—overview: Singapore has an open economy with strong service and manufacturing sectors and excellent international trading links derived from its entrepot history. Extraordinarily strong fundamentals allowed Singapore to weather the effects of the Asian financial crisis better than its neighbors but the crisis did pull GDP growth down to approximately 6% in 1997. Projections for 1998 GDP growth are in the 4.5% to 6.5% range. Rising labor costs and appreciation of the Singapore dollar against its neighbors' currencies continue to be a threat to Singapore's competitiveness. The government's strategy to address this problem includes increasing productivity improving infrastructure and encouraging higher value-added industries. In applied technology per capita output investment and labor discipline Singapore has key attributes of a developed country. GDP: purchasing power parity—$84.6 billion (1997 est.) GDP—real growth rate: 6% (1997 est.) GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity—$24 600 (1997 est.) GDP—composition by sector: agriculture: NEGL% industry: 28% services: 72% Inflation rate—consumer price index: 1.8% (1997 est.) Labor force: total: 1.856 million (1997 est.) by occupation: financial business and other services 33.5% manufacturing 25.6% commerce 22.9% construction 6.6% other 11.4% (1994) Unemployment rate: 3% (1997 est.) Budget: revenues: $16.3 billion expenditures: $13.6 billion including capital expenditures of $NA (FY97/98 est.) Industries: electronics financial services oil drilling equipment petroleum refining rubber processing and rubber products processed food and beverages ship repair entrepot trade biotechnology Industrial production growth rate: 7% (1996 est.) Electricity—capacity: 4.513 million kW (1995) Electricity—production: 21 billion kWh (1995) Electricity—consumption per capita: 7 234 kWh (1995) Agriculture—products: rubber copra fruit vegetables; poultry Exports: total value: $125.6 billion (1997 est.) commodities: computer equipment rubber and rubber products petroleum products telecommunications equipment partners: Malaysia 19% US 18% Hong Kong 9% Japan 8% Thailand 6% (1995) Imports: total value: $133.9 billion (1997 est.) commodities: aircraft petroleum chemicals foodstuffs partners: Japan 21% Malaysia 15% US 15% Thailand 5% Taiwan 4% South Korea 4% (1995) Debt—external: $NA Economic aid: $NA Currency: 1 Singapore dollar (S$) = 100 cents Exchange rates: Singapore dollars (S$) per US$1—1.7533 (January 1998) 1.4848 (1997) 1.4100 (1996) 1.4174 (1995) 1.5274 (1994) 1.6158 (1993) Fiscal year: 1 April—31 March
