Banking and money

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• full bank – 全面银行 (quánmiàn yínháng) – bank penuh: a bank licensed by MAS to carry on the whole range of banking business in Singapore (Chapter D.IV).
• qualifying full bank – 特准全面银行 (tèzhǔn quánmiàn yínháng) – bank penuh layak: a foreign full bank granted additional branch and service privileges under the liberalisation programme after the Asian financial crisis (Chapter D.IV).
• wholesale bank – 批发银行 (pīfā yínháng) – bank borong: a bank licensed for business with corporate and institutional clients that may not take small retail deposits in Singapore dollars (Chapter D.IV).
• local bank – 本地银行 (běndì yínháng) – bank tempatan: a bank incorporated and controlled in Singapore, today DBS, OCBC and UOB (Chapters B.III and D.IV).
• deposit insurance – 存款保险 (cúnkuǎn bǎoxiǎn) – insurans deposit: a scheme that protects small depositors up to a limit if a bank or finance company fails.
• collateral – 抵押品 (dǐyāpǐn) – cagaran: an asset pledged to a lender as security for the repayment of a loan.
• liquidity – 流动性 (liúdòngxìng) – kecairan: the ability of a bank or market to meet payment obligations as they fall due without heavy losses.
• capital adequacy – 资本充足 (zīběn chōngzú) – kecukupan modal: the requirement that a bank hold enough capital in proportion to its risk-weighted assets.
• lender of last resort – 最后贷款人 (zuìhòu dàikuǎn rén) – pemberi pinjaman terakhir: a central bank that lends to solvent banks in a liquidity crisis when no other source of funds is available (Chapter B.III).
• exchange rate – 汇率 (huìlǜ) – kadar pertukaran: the price of one currency expressed in another currency.¹
• monetary policy – 货币政策 (huòbì zhèngcè) – dasar monetari: the management of money and credit by the central bank to achieve price stability, which MAS conducts through the exchange rate (Chapter C.V).²
• basket, band and crawl (BBC) – 一篮子货币、区间与爬行 (yì lánzi huòbì, qūjiān yǔ páxíng) – Bakul, Kumpul dan Merangkak: the MAS framework that manages the Singapore dollar against a trade-weighted basket within an undisclosed band that moves over time (Chapter C.V).³⁴
• inflation – 通货膨胀 (tōnghuò péngzhàng) – inflasi: a sustained rise in the general level of prices, which reduces the purchasing power of money.⁵
• Singapore dollar (SGD) – 新加坡元 (Xīnjiāpō yuán) – dolar Singapura: the currency of Singapore, fully backed by external assets.⁶
• financial stability – 金融稳定 (jīnróng wěndìng) – kestabilan kewangan: the condition in which banks, markets and payment systems continue to function in the face of shocks.⁷
• financial centre – 金融中心 (jīnróng zhōngxīn) – pusat kewangan: a city where banks, markets, advisers and regulators cluster to provide financial services beyond the domestic economy.⁸
• financial institution – 金融机构 (jīnróng jīgòu) – institusi kewangan: a bank, insurer, broker, fund manager or other firm that provides financial services and falls under MAS supervision.⁹
• Asian Currency Unit (ACU) – 亚洲货币单位 (Yàzhōu Huòbì Dānwèi) – Unit Mata Wang Asia: a separate set of accounts in which banks in Singapore booked foreign-currency business with non-residents until the separate accounts were abolished (Chapter C.IV).¹⁰
• Asian dollar market – 亚洲美元市场 (Yàzhōu Měiyuán Shìchǎng) – pasaran dolar Asia: the offshore market in US dollars and other foreign currencies centred on Singapore (Chapter C.IV).
• offshore banking – 离岸银行业务 (lí’àn yínháng yèwù) – perbankan luar pesisir: banking business conducted in foreign currencies with non-residents, separated from the domestic market.
• private banking – 私人银行业务 (sīrén yínháng yèwù) – perbankan persendirian: banking and investment services for wealthy individuals and families, provided on a personal basis (Chapter D.V).
• wealth management – 财富管理 (cáifù guǎnlǐ) – pengurusan kekayaan: advice on and management of the assets of individuals and families, including investment, succession and tax planning (Chapter D.V).
• relationship manager – 客户经理 (kèhù jīnglǐ) – pengurus perhubungan: the bank employee responsible for a private client’s relationship and for gathering information on the client’s background.
• banking secrecy – 银行保密 (yínháng bǎomì) – kerahsiaan perbankan: the statutory duty of a bank not to disclose customer information, which the Banking Act governs in Singapore (Chapter E.II).
• bill of exchange – 汇票 (huìpiào) – bil pertukaran: a written order by one person to another to pay a fixed sum to a named person at a fixed time (Chapter B.II).

Notes

1. MAS, Malay visitor brochure (2022), as above, Zone B: “Bagaimana kadar pertukaran akan mempengaruhi inflasi?”. ↩
2. MAS, Malay visitor brochure (2022), as above, Zone B: “Rangka kerja dasar monetari berpusatkan kadar pertukaran”. ↩
3. MAS, Malay visitor brochure (2022), as above, Zone B: rangka kerja “Bakul, Kumpul dan Merangkak” atau Basket, Band and Crawl (BBC). ↩
4. Chinese form: a translation. ↩
5. MAS, Malay visitor brochure (2022), as above, Zone B: “Tahap inflasi rendah dan stabil”. ↩
6. MAS, Malay visitor brochure (2022), as above, Zone C: “SGD (Dolar Singapura)”. ↩
7. MAS, Malay visitor brochure (2022), as above, Zone C: “Kestabilan kewangan”. ↩
8. MAS, Malay visitor brochure (2022), as above: “pusat kewangan antarabangsa yang dinamik”. ↩
9. MAS, Malay visitor brochure (2022), as above, Zone D: “lebih 2000 institusi kewangan”. ↩
10. Malay form is a translation. ↩

For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of October 2026.