According to proposals in the 65-page document, the  Monetary Authority of Singapore would require any bank incorporated outside the city and which meets certain tests to be incorporated in Singapore to enhance depositors’ protection. It also wants to bring in “a safe harbour provision protecting external auditors from liability arising from disclosure, in good faith, of confidential information provided to MAS”.

The regulator set out ideas to give it the right to punish auditors that don’t set out their statutory duties under the Banking Act.

Singapore-incorporated banks would have to immediately inform the MAS if they became aware of people who had become substantial shareholders and controllers without seeking prior approval of the minister running the MAS, it said in a statement.

At present, the MAS must give approval to banks if they want to open a new place of business or change the location of operations. “MAS is proposing to amend the BA such that it would have the power to extend the approval requirement to include places at which banks conduct other financial or related activities so as to exercise better oversight of banks’ activities,” the consultation paper said.

Separately, the MAS paper considered its power to declare bank holidays. At the moment, when a bank holiday is declared, banks cannot operate without MAS consent, but the regulator wants to adjust the rule so that it can declare any day or part of a day to be a bank holiday and prescribe a list of activities banks can, and cannot, conduct on such a day.

Regulators around the world have been looking at how to make the financial system more resilient in the face of shocks in the wake of the 2008 market crash. Earlier this week, Hong Kong's regulatory authorities launched the second part of a consultation programme on the subject, lasting three months.