Singapore financial sector conducts large-scale industry-wide business continuity exercise

The Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) has announced that a large-scale real-time industry-wide business continuity exercise for the financial sector was successfully conducted on Tuesday, 9th May 2006.

‘Exercise Raffles’ saw more than 170 financial institutions, including banks, the Singapore Exchange (SGX), the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) as well as infrastructure providers such as SWIFT and the Singapore Automated Clearing House, participating in the half-day exercise from 2.00 pm to 5.30 pm.

Exercise Raffles was designed to test industry-wide coordination and response to a major operational disruption affecting the financial sector as a result of a terrorist attack. In addition, it allowed participating institutions to exercise their own crisis management and business continuity plans.

The exercise was modelled after the UK Tripartite Authorities’ market-wide exercise in November 2005.

The scenario was as follows: “On Tuesday 8th May, Singapore’s financial industry was rocked by a major terrorist attack. Reports of explosions began filtering through at around 2.15 pm. Evacuation and cordons were set up by police and transport was halted. Key financial indices plummeted in response.”

The exercise scenario was delivered in real-time through news broadcast and websites as well as telephone injects simulating a broad range of customers, regulators, media and security issues.

•Date: 11th May 2006 • Region: SE Asia • Type: Article •Topic: Financial sector
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