MAS must take the lead and end private banking rebates

PICTURE this: a man walks up to you and tells you he'll mug you at gunpoint because he's in financial need. That would be awful, but disclosing his motive and planned course of action upfront makes it okay, right?

While the image may be a little strong, that's the question the Monetary Authority of Singapore - and other market regulators around the world - should be asking about private banking rebates.

Singapore's central bank told Bloomberg News on Thursday that there's room to clarify the practice of offering economic incentives to wealth managers for selling high-risk bonds to their clients. An industry group under its umbrella is reviewing disclosure requirements, the MAS said.