MAS Imposes Restrictions on DBS After Service Disruptions

In response to the multiple service disruptions experienced by DBS in the current year, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has imposed a six-month ban on DBS for engaging in new business acquisitions, reports CNA. Additionally, Singapore's largest lender, DBS, is mandated to suspend any non-essential IT modifications for a period of six months.

The aim of these measures, as per MAS's announcement on November 1, is to ensure that DBS allocates the necessary resources and focus to enhance its technology risk management systems and controls. During this period, DBS will be prohibited from reducing the scale of its branch and ATM networks in Singapore. This step is taken to guarantee the availability of alternative channels for customers in the event of further disruptions, as DBS works on boosting the operational resilience of its digital channels. MAS emphasizes that these directives will remain in effect until they are satisfied with the progress of DBS Bank's remediation plan.

On October 14, DBS and Citibank's digital banking and payment services experienced extended disruptions due to a technical issue with the cooling system at an Equinix-operated data center. This incident also impacted DBS automated teller machines (ATMs), prompting Singapore's largest lender to reopen branches on a Saturday afternoon to assist customers.

Following this disruption, MAS instructed DBS and Citibank to conduct a thorough investigation, observing that both banks were unable to fully recover their systems within the stipulated timeframe. MAS had previously stated that any unscheduled downtime affecting a bank's critical services or customer operations should not exceed four hours in a 12-month period. It also stressed the necessity for banks to have backup data centers and systems in place, as stated on October 19 in response to the outage.