The Monetary Authority of Singapore is consulting on new proposals to expand its regulatory oversight of bank outsourcing arrangements.

Under the new regime, MAS intends to impose requirements for banks to conduct due diligence checks on technology partners, include customer data protection terms in outsourcing agreements, and put in place recovery plans in the event of service disruption. 

MAS will also be empowered to conduct its own inspections of third party providers and their sub-contractors and will have the right to terminate contracts that may endanger operational stability.

The consultation closes next month. Banks will be given a 12-month timeframe to become fully compliant.