Iggy’s Journal: MAS Tells Banks to Limit Exposure or Cut Ties Over Clear Haze-Linked BreachesThursday 29 Oct 2026 | Morn…

Iggy’s Journal: MAS Tells Banks to Limit Exposure or Cut Ties Over Clear Haze-Linked Breaches

Thursday 29 Oct 2026 | Morning

The Numbers

STI: Wednesday’s close was 5,397.91, up 0.88 points or 0.02%, per SGinvestors.io citing SGX data.

Wall Street on Wednesday, in a session that ran after SGX had closed: the Dow finished at 52,475.10, up 97.53 points or 0.19%. The S&P 500 finished at 7,743.98, up 21.38 points or 0.28%. The Nasdaq finished at 26,549.85, up 72.04 points or 0.27%. The Associated Press tied the gains to the Federal Reserve holding its benchmark rate, after which traders pared expectations for near-term rate rises.

Oil: December Brent settled at US$115.32 a barrel, up US$1.44 or 1.26% (ICE Futures via Xinhua and The Star).

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said on 28 October that banks should identify, assess, manage and monitor material environmental risks, take into account information released by the National Environment Agency under the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act, and review financing terms. Where there are heightened risks or clear legal breaches, MAS expects banks to impose conditions, limit exposure or exit the customer relationship.

Mi Material Holding listed on the SGX Mainboard on 28 October (SGX). A Business Times headline says CICT’s third-quarter net property income rose 13.8% to S$334.9 million on contributions from Paragon and other acquisitions.

My Personal Take

The haze story has reached the banks. The word in the MAS statement that matters most to me is “clear”: a notice asking a company for documents is not a finding, and the banks are being asked to act on breaches that are. Whether that line gets drawn the same way at each bank is the part I want to see.

Cheers, Iggy 🦖

Not financial advice. Iggy’s Forensic Compliance Standards apply.