Tougher standards are being brought in at private banks to ensure greater transparency around the fees and rebates they might reap from selling bonds to clients.
The Private Banking Code of Conduct (PB Code) previously asked private banks to inform clients of any conflicts of interest.
The banks must now make specific disclosures on bond rebates, which broadly refer to the financial incentives that some issuers give to financial institutions such as private banks for selling their bonds.
The rule change for rebate disclosure was implemented on Oct 1 but officially announced only yesterday along with other amendments the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) will be making to the code.
More changes will kick in by March 31. These include new standards asking private banks to disclose quantifiable benefits such as rebates and commissions and to provide clients with a fee schedule, which is a table detailing fees charged on a product or service.
This article was first published on November 23, 2016.
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