Issue 29
April 2025
Welcome to the MBA's News Digest!
Dear readers,
Anyone who follows their bank’s security advice is well protected, states a preliminary study investigating fraud prevention measures by the Swiss Bankers Association.
Debit card fraud drove losses at financial institutions in 2024, highlights a Federal Reserve survey.
Customer is king – Reserve Bank of India Governor’s reminder to bankers as he pushes for more awareness on complaint process.
Best wishes,
The MBA team
All eyes on sustainable finance
25 April 2025
High ranking officials from the French & Mauritius governments, the Bank of Mauritius, the European Union, Agence Française de Développement, the Mauritius Bankers Association, Business Mauritius, SBM Bank Mauritius, Maubank, Absa Mauritius & MCB group, participated to a breakfast meeting earlier today to set in motion a transformative shift for sustainable finance.
This initiative is part of the AFD’s “Cap sur la Finance Durable” strategy to support, and accelerate the deployment of green financing, in collaboration with banks.
House committee advances bills on stablecoins, de novo banks, CBDCs
3 April 2025
‘Other legislation advanced by the committee:
- The Promoting New Bank Formation Act, which would establish a three-year phase-in period for new banks to comply with federal capital standards, among other changes. The vote was 28-21. ABA supported the bill.
- The Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, which would prohibit the Federal Reserve Banks from issuing a retail central bank digital currency. The vote was 27-22. ABA supported the bill.
- The 1071 Repeal to Protect Small Business Lending Act, which would repeal the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s small-business lending data collection rule. The vote was 27-22. ABA supported the resolution.
The Financial Technology Protection Act, which would establish a government working group to help combat terrorism and illicit financing on digital platforms. The vote was unanimous.’
Fed survey: Most fraud losses attributable to debit card, check fraud
4 April 2025
‘The number of financial institutions that experienced attempted check fraud grew by 10% from 2023 to 2024, followed by attempted automated clearing house fraud at 9% and debit card fraud at 6%. However, debit card fraud accounted for 39% of fraud losses last year, followed by check fraud at 30%. ACH fraud accounted for 9% of losses while credit card fraud accounted for 5%. The remaining losses were attributable to other payment methods — such as wire transfers and nonbank apps — although instant and real-time payments saw low to no reported losses. Financial institutions reported increases in check fraud events involving counterfeit checks, check washing and payee forgery, according to the report. Events involving kiting, float and paperhanging all decreased, “suggesting cooperative industry efforts are reducing risk and losses.” ’
ABA survey: U.S. consumers happy with their bank, applaud fraud protection efforts
8 April 2025
‘The survey found that Americans believe the nation’s banks are competing aggressively for their business and that they have ample access to banking services. Eight in 10 (83%) respondents agree they have multiple options when selecting products and services such as bank accounts, loans and credit cards, and the same percentage said they have a wide array of choices when deciding where to bank. Eight in 10 (80%) agree they have easy access to a bank branch when they need it. Seventy-eight percent believe the financial services industry is highly competitive, and eight in 10 (80%) also believe their bank is transparent about disclosing fees.’
SBA recommends concrete measures to improve collaborative fraud prevention in Swiss payments
3 April 2025
‘Several Swiss banks have conducted a preliminary study together with the Swiss Bankers Association (SBA) to investigate possible measures for collaborative fraud prevention in Swiss account-to-account payments. The preliminary study recommends pursuing three concrete measures: launch joint awareness campaigns, further evaluate a network-level risk scoring service, and promote cross-product and cross-industry exchange on fraud.’
“Anyone who follows their bank’s security advice is well protected”
15 April 2025
‘That we can achieve more together. Three things are crucial: firstly, a coordinated awareness-raising campaign for the public – especially on topics such as social engineering. Secondly, a regular structured exchange on fraud patterns and fraud strategies, both among banks and with other industries, in particular telecommunications companies and online marketplaces. And thirdly, modern technical infrastructures that help to detect and prevent fraud more quickly at the network level by checking payment orders in real time. The goal is to work together intelligently – not just more closely.’
Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on protecting customer information from unauthorised access or disclosure
8 April 2025
‘As required under MAS’ Notice on Technology Risk Management, banks must, and have put in place IT controls to protect customer information from unauthorised access or disclosure. This includes controls to limit employees access to systems containing customer data on a need-to basis. MAS expects banks’ internal audit functions to address all material risks, including data loss. Banks have conducted audits to review their controls for data loss and users’ access to systems containing customer information, and have taken measures to address issues identified. With improvements in technology, banks are continually strengthening their ability to detect unusual staff activity using digital screen watermarks, Artificial Intelligence and other advanced techniques. The ability to protect the confidentiality of customer information is core to a bank’s business and MAS expects that they continue to invest in this area.’
Ransomware Attack on Toppan Next Tech
7 April 2025
‘The Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) are aware of a ransomware attack reported by Toppan Next Tech (TNT) to the Personal Data Protection Commission on the evening of 6 April 2025. The attack has led to customer information from DBS Bank and Bank of China Limited, Singapore branch, being extracted by the threat actor. No customer log-in information has been compromised. CSA is aiding TNT in their investigations and is advising them on containment measures. MAS is in close engagement with the affected banks on their risk mitigating measures and follow-up with customers. The impacted banks have placed the relevant accounts on enhanced monitoring, and are contacting affected customers as a matter of priority.’
RBI will now allow banks and NBFCs to offload bad loans to investors directly
12 April 2025
‘The Reserve Bank of India has introduced a new framework allowing banks and NBFCs to directly sell stressed assets to investors through special purpose entities, aiming to broaden the distressed debt market. This initiative introduces resolution managers to maximize asset recovery, while lenders must incrementally provision for securitized notes. ARCs may face increased competition, particularly for mid-sized and retail loans.’
Customer is king: RBI highlights rising complaints in banking sector
21 March 2025
‘The number of complaints could actually be much higher because there is a large section of people who don’t have the wherewithal or aren’t even aware of the processes to make complaints — something that the regulator, along with the industry, needs to address urgently. In fact, one simply has to browse through social media to see the large number of complaints against leading banks. These include repeated demand for know your customer (KYC) documents, and of course, mis-selling of products. And, as the RBI governor rightly pointed out, though all changes in address gets updated in the Central KYC Registry, most banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) have not enabled the same in their branches, leading to further harassment of customers.’
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