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Marcus Lim
Assistant Managing Director (Banking and Insurance) at Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)
Marcus Lim is a highly experienced financial executive currently serving as the Assistant Managing Director (Banking and Insurance) at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).1 In this role, he oversees the Banking and Insurance Group, which is responsible for supervising and regulating banks, merchant banks, finance companies, and insurance companies in Singapore.34
Professional Background
Marcus Lim has an extensive career in the financial sector, particularly within the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Some of his previous positions at MAS include:
- Executive Director of Banking Department I
- Head of Payments and Infrastructure Division
- Head of Anti-Money Laundering Policy
- Assistant Director
Throughout his career, Lim has demonstrated expertise in various areas, including:
- Policy development
- Payments systems
- Financial infrastructure
- Anti-money laundering
- Financial regulation
- Risk management
- International financial institutions
Education
Marcus Lim has a strong academic background in economics:
- Master of Arts from Harvard University
- Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Chicago
Certifications
Lim holds the Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) certification from ACAMS, which he obtained in January 2017.1
Recent Activities
As part of his role at MAS, Marcus Lim actively participates in industry events and discussions. For example, he delivered a keynote speech titled "No Free Soloing" at the LIA Annual Luncheon on March 21, 2023. In this speech, he addressed various topics relevant to the insurance industry, including:
- The importance of the insurance sector in supporting the real economy
- Raising standards in the financial advisory space
- Efforts to detect and prevent misconduct in the industry
- The role of insurers in supporting the net zero transition2
Marcus Lim's LinkedIn profile (username: marcus-lim-0924702) reflects his current position at MAS and provides a platform for him to share insights and updates related to his work in the financial sector.5
Highlights
Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)'s Banking and Insurance Group convened for our mid-year gathering today. Among the many colleagues that shared their stories was Roy, who is one of our security personnel.
Before he started working in our building, Roy had witnessed first hand how Singapore transformed during a period of rapid industrialization as the oil and gas sector grew and modernised its operations. Growing up on Pulau Bukom and joining the sector thereafter, he also watched up close as several small islands to the southwest of Singapore were combined to form the Jurong Island we know today.
Roy's story set the stage for a broader conversation we had about organisation transformation and how: ▶ Transformation is a process, not an event ▶ Transformation is hard work; and ▶ Transformation is about being a good steward.
While prepping for today's session, I came across this neat quote from James Belasco and Ralph Stayer which explains that "change is hard because people overestimate the value of what they have and underestimate the value of what they may gain by giving that up."
Wherever you are on your transformation journey, know that difficulties are par for the course. Of course the challenge is discerning when to pivot and when to persevere. But standing still is not an option when the external environment is continually changing.
Earlier this week, we hosted a delegation from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) led by Mr Shri S. C. Murmu, Executive Director of the Department of Supervision (Supervisory Assessment).
Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and RBI have a long history of partnership, with one example being the launch of the linkage between Singapore’s PayNow and India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) last year, which now will be extended via Project Nexus.
Open dialogue allows us to learn from each other's experiences and coordinate supervisory actions as the banking landscape continues to become more complex and interconnected.
Gek Choo Goh, FRM, Wun Yi Sin
