Singapore Private Bank Onboarding Target Set at One Month

Singapore aims to reduce private bank account opening times for wealthy clients to within one month by the end of 2026 as authorities seek to strengthen the city-state’s position as a trusted global wealth management hub.

The Singapore private bank onboarding initiative is being led by the Monetary Authority of Singapore together with the Private Banking Industry Group.

MAS managing director Chia Der Jiun said onboarding currently takes around six weeks or longer for more complex cases.

The regulator has issued guidance encouraging financial institutions to assess clients’ source of wealth using a risk-proportionate approach while avoiding unnecessary checks that could delay Singapore private bank onboarding.

The move follows tighter scrutiny after Singapore’s SGD3bn (USD2.22bn) money laundering case in 2023, which resulted in penalties for nine financial institutions.

The Singapore private bank onboarding reforms aim to balance strong compliance standards with operational efficiency as competition for global wealth and family office assets intensifies.