MAS for Mid Career Professionals

Originally Posted by Unregistered

It is okay to comment about cultures and how different it could be between MAS and the banks. But it is unfair to say the quality of work output is lesser or poorer in MAS or MAS should deserve less. Dude, like it or not, to run a financial sector business in Singapore, your FI needs to applease MAS. You think MAS is stupid then you better exit Singapore financial sector because your bank might find this place so stupid to business with stupid rules and stupid returns to fill that it fires you and close down in SG. If that did not happen and everything seeems fine, is because your CEO in HQ decided that it is better deal to hire compliance and spend the resources to deal with MAS.

As a Singaporean, do you think MAS can offer to hire stupid and incompetent officers? This is the central bank that dictates the value of SGD, the regulator that make sure the banks and market do not got rogue and tmr your bank account do not simply become zero, it is also the agengy giving many grants funded by taxes behind the scenes to persuade the CEOs of high paying foreign banks, family offices and fund managers to please keep the jobs here and hire locals.

If MAS can be made up of incompetent people, then great because SGporeans can save some tax monies .

Are you serious bro?

Which banks are you comparing MAS with? Maybank and CIMB?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I work in one of the FSG departments and I do not believe that all MAS officers are of good calibre.

Yes, I'm saying it out. There are some MAS officers that are simply not up to mark. Their brains are stuck in the old ways and they are incapable of handling new issues that occur.

A major problem with MAS officers is an extreme reluctance to use alternative sources of information to aid in decision-making. Apart from not knowing how to get such information, even if they do know how to, they are at risk of being called "extra" or even worse, get arrowed to do more work. The "psychological safety" that is important to success and that has been mentioned many times is not being implemented well.

Certain departments have become so ossified that it is nearly impossible to change any process there without the staff kicking up a fuss (and the bosses have to accommodate the incompetence of their staff).

You sound like a really frustrated FSG “boss” to publicly diss your colleagues or staff.

Do share then, examples of information sources that have been overlooked and, in your view, lead to incompetence and poor decision-making.

I came across a public LinkedIn post about MD Ravi Menon asking staff to love MAS and the people it serves. I agree. If you dare, approach your department head or AMD so it’s clear which department’s processes need to be relooked in your view. This assumes you have already heard out your staff on why those processes were established to begin with. Shouting out anonymously about FSG and hoping someone up there notices doesn’t really reflect well, especially to industry.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

It is okay to comment about cultures and how different it could be between MAS and the banks. But it is unfair to say the quality of work output is lesser or poorer in MAS or MAS should deserve less. Dude, like it or not, to run a financial sector business in Singapore, your FI needs to applease MAS. You think MAS is stupid then you better exit Singapore financial sector because your bank might find this place so stupid to business with stupid rules and stupid returns to fill that it fires you and close down in SG. If that did not happen and everything seeems fine, is because your CEO in HQ decided that it is better deal to hire compliance and spend the resources to deal with MAS.

As a Singaporean, do you think MAS can offer to hire stupid and incompetent officers? This is the central bank that dictates the value of SGD, the regulator that make sure the banks and market do not got rogue and tmr your bank account do not simply become zero, it is also the agengy giving many grants funded by taxes behind the scenes to persuade the CEOs of high paying foreign banks, family offices and fund managers to please keep the jobs here and hire locals.

If MAS can be made up of incompetent people, then great because SGporeans can save some tax monies .

You have to be kidding. The interview process at MAS is the same as that of other businesses. What gives you the impression that they can only recognize individuals of the highest caliber? The fact is that although having a great educational background is beneficial, they occasionally wind up hiring subpar employees. The private sector will terminate these employees, but in the MAS, they are not allowed to be fired and their task is transferred to other employees since the manager does not want his own KpIs to be compromised by underperforming employees.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

You have to be kidding. The interview process at MAS is the same as that of other businesses. What gives you the impression that they can only recognize individuals of the highest caliber? The fact is that although having a great educational background is beneficial, they occasionally wind up hiring subpar employees. The private sector will terminate these employees, but in the MAS, they are not allowed to be fired and their task is transferred to other employees since the manager does not want his own KpIs to be compromised by underperforming employees.

This commentary leaves out the nuance of talent attrition. It may be true that there is no company where people never leave, but the rate at which good employees choose to leave MAS has always surprised me. Some reasons why even high performing employees choose to leave is the lack of progression beyond a certain level. You will find many reasonably competent DDs stuck as an overworked TL for the rest of their careers. Those who choose to stay on know they must toe the line to at least maintain their current position aka pay. This creates a culture, as others have identified, where performance is tied to what your boss thinks or feels his or her bosses want.

For some departments, a lot of the work output of staff is from workgroups pushing papers for deliberation of bosses on the next new shiny thing. The process is supposedly consultative and collaborative but with some bosses, there is very little room for disagreement, or working conditions can be made very difficult.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

You have to be kidding. The interview process at MAS is the same as that of other businesses. What gives you the impression that they can only recognize individuals of the highest caliber? The fact is that although having a great educational background is beneficial, they occasionally wind up hiring subpar employees. The private sector will terminate these employees, but in the MAS, they are not allowed to be fired and their task is transferred to other employees since the manager does not want his own KpIs to be compromised by underperforming employees.

Seen ppl "resigning" during probabtion period.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Are you serious bro?

Which banks are you comparing MAS with? Maybank and CIMB?

Whats the link with Maybank and CIMB? Do you know they are also regulated although mainly under auspices of BNM.

If you think DBS is better than CIMB, isnt that evidence that MAS is doing a better job than say, BNM?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Whats the link with Maybank and CIMB? Do you know they are also regulated although mainly under auspices of BNM.

If you think DBS is better than CIMB, isnt that evidence that MAS is doing a better job than say, BNM?

No. It just means Piyush Gupta and his management team is doing a good job. MAS staffs forever claiming credit for things that have nothing to do with them.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

No. It just means Piyush Gupta and his management team is doing a good job. MAS staffs forever claiming credit for things that have nothing to do with them.

There’s some truth in this. Bosses tend to ask their staff rounds and rounds of questions to make a decision. (I believe the desire to adequately address bosses questions contributes to why some consultation responses can take 2-3 years to be ready, when industry is typically only allowed one month to provide views. Of course, those responsible would always be ready to justify their delay.)

Staff pass on all those questions, as and when they are asked, to the poor FI staff. Sometimes I wonder how regulators who have no robust financial ops background would survive if the FI provides them inadequate responses, especially on areas not mandated by legislation or other regulatory framework. Thankfully, the relationship between MAS and industry is mostly positive.

MAS is the best ok! I feel so much power when able to command CEO and CFO! They are so scared of us!!!

Originally Posted by Unregistered

You sound like a really frustrated FSG “boss” to publicly diss your colleagues or staff.

Do share then, examples of information sources that have been overlooked and, in your view, lead to incompetence and poor decision-making.

I came across a public LinkedIn post about MD Ravi Menon asking staff to love MAS and the people it serves. I agree. If you dare, approach your department head or AMD so it’s clear which department’s processes need to be relooked in your view. This assumes you have already heard out your staff on why those processes were established to begin with. Shouting out anonymously about FSG and hoping someone up there notices doesn’t really reflect well, especially to industry.

Interesting of you to comment that I am a "boss". No I'm not. I'm but a humble rank-and-file officer. And I don't see it as "dissing". I am simply sharing that people should not assume that everyone in MAS is a genius. We are all humans and have our flaws after all

I have already mentioned to my dept head certain processes that can be improved upon. Unfortunately, there is a degree of resistance that is preventing change, even if my dept head agrees that it is a good idea in principle.

Contrary to what you may think, it is precisely because I love MAS and believe that we can do a better job that's why I brought up my ideas to my bosses. But the truth is there are unnecessary obstacles standing in the way, and I ascribe this to certain staff/dynamics that are preventing change because of either no motivation to change or the inability to.

Not forcing you to agree...we all have different perspectives on things