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MAS FEAT ​

MAS FEAT illustration

MAS FEAT is "Principles to Promote Fairness, Ethics, Accountability and Transparency (FEAT) in the Use of Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics in Singapore's Financial Sector" of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). MAS FEAT gives principles to AIDA Firms, "firms that use AIDA to provide financial products and services" (§ 3.3).

About MAS FEAT ​

MAS FEAT gives principles for the financial sector. In the Veritas Initiative, MAS writes about the FEAT principles "that MAS co-created with the financial industry in late 2018". MAS FEAT § 2.1 gives the Principles "for firms to consider when assessing existing or developing new internal frameworks to govern the use of AIDA".

For AIDA, AIDA-driven decisions, and data subjects in MAS FEAT (§ 3.3), see AIDA and data subjects.

MAS FEAT gives this information about its use:

  • In § 2.2, MAS FEAT writes: "This set of Principles is not intended to be prescriptive. Examples provided in this document are purely illustrative."
  • The Principles are "not intended to replace existing relevant internal governance frameworks" (§ 2.1). MAS FEAT § 2.1 also tells AIDA Firms that they "should continue to comply with all applicable laws and requirements".
  • Across all the Principles, AIDA Firms can use materiality to "calibrate actions and requirements under their internal governance framework" (§ 2.3).

MAS FEAT has 14 Principles in four groups: Fairness (Principles 1–4), Ethics (Principles 5–6), Accountability (Principles 7–11), and Transparency (Principles 12–14). For each principle, see The 14 FEAT principles.

Veritas assessment ​

The Veritas Initiative of MAS and the financial industry gives a method for the FEAT assessment of AIDA. In the Veritas Initiative, MAS writes that Veritas "aims to enable financial institutions to evaluate their AIDA-driven solutions against the principles of fairness, ethics, accountability and transparency (FEAT)".

In the Veritas Initiative, MAS writes: "MAS announced the conclusion of Veritas Phase 2 on 4 February 2022." The MAS Veritas Initiative gives these four sources for the FEAT assessment method:

  • Veritas Document 3, FEAT Principles Assessment Methodology
  • Veritas Document 3A, FEAT Fairness Principles Assessment Methodology
  • Veritas Document 3B, FEAT Ethics and Accountability Principles Assessment Methodology
  • Veritas Document 3C, FEAT Transparency Principles Assessment Methodology

Veritas Document 3 tells FSIs (financial services institutions) that the Phase 2 sources "do not prescribe what FSIs must do to comply with FEAT". These sources "provide practical and detailed guidance on how FSIs can perform FEAT assessment of their AIDA models and systems, which FSIs could use and adapt as appropriate". Veritas Document 3 also tells FSIs that they "are expected to work towards achieving the FEAT Principles and outcomes as they increasingly deploy AIDA to make decisions". It adds that FSIs "have flexibility to explore how best to achieve them, including establishing governance frameworks and control processes that are appropriate to their business operations and risk profiles".

The Veritas assessment uses codes for items in the generic checklist, fairness checklist, ethics and accountability checklist, and transparency checklist. These codes are not the numbers of the MAS FEAT Principles. See Veritas assessment for the assessment and its sequence.

MAS AI Risk Management Guidelines ​

The MAS "Guidelines on Artificial Intelligence Risk Management for Financial Institutions" (the Guidelines) have a "Published Date" of October 7, 2026. The Guidelines and MAS FEAT are different sources. The MAS "Response to Feedback Received on Guidelines on Artificial Intelligence Risk Management" (the Response) has the same date.

The Guidelines give these supervisory expectations:

  • Supervisory expectations: the Guidelines "set out MAS' supervisory expectations relating to AI risk management in financial institutions (FIs)" (§ 1.1).
  • MAS FEAT: the Guidelines "complement existing legislation and guidelines issued by the MAS" (§ 1.2). In § 1.2, the Guidelines also tell FIs that the "existing principles on Fairness, Ethics, Accountability and Transparency (FEAT)" "continue to apply for guiding the use of AI in the financial sector".

The Guidelines and MAS FEAT apply to different uses and organizations:

  • AI: in the Guidelines, AI "refers to machine-based systems or models that derive outputs through learned premises such as the data or inputs it receives" (§ 1.3). "Calculators or tools whose outputs are solely based on predefined programming logic or rules" are not AI in the Guidelines (§ 1.3). The AIDA of MAS FEAT also includes data analytics (§ 3.3). Thus, it is possible that an AIDA use in MAS FEAT is not AI in the Guidelines.
  • Financial institutions: FIs are financial institutions in Section 2 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2022 (§ 1.1). The Guidelines apply "to all FIs in a proportionate manner, according to their size and risk profile" (§ 2.1), also for "Generative AI" and "AI agents" (§ 1.5).
  • Groups: the Guidelines apply on a group basis to locally incorporated FIs that are "(i) subject to consolidated supervision by MAS" or "(ii) an owner of a critical information infrastructure" (§ 1.2). An FI in a "global group" can use its group frameworks if these "meet the expectations set out in these Guidelines" (§ 1.5).

The Guidelines "take effect on 7 October 2027" (§ 1.8).

An FI "may apply basic AI governance policies and procedures" (§ 2.3) if this condition applies:

the poor performance or unavailability of the AI services or tools used by the FI is unlikely to have a material adverse impact on the FI, its customers or other stakeholders

For this condition, § 2.3 tells the FI that it "should consider" all of these items:

  • "the potential financial, operational, regulatory, legal or reputational impact on the FI"
  • "the potential impact on customers or other stakeholders, including in relation to fairness, ethical conduct and consumer protection"

Section 2.5 gives the minimum contents of basic AI governance, with reviews to check if § 2.3 continues to apply (§ 2.5(f)).

The Guidelines and the Response give these dates:

FISupervisory expectationsDate
General AI governance: an FI, unless the condition above applies (§ 2.2)Sections 3–4, "AI Oversight" and "Key AI Risk Management Systems, Policies and Procedures".FIs "may meet the expectations" from October 7, 2027 (Guidelines § 1.8). An FI "should meet the expectations" by "12 months", thus by October 7, 2027 (Response § 13.5).
General AI governance: an FI, unless the condition above applies (§ 2.2)Sections 5–6, "AI Life Cycle Controls" and "AI Capability & Capacity"FIs "may meet the expectations" by October 7, 2028 (Guidelines § 1.8). "Full implementation" "should be completed by 24 months", thus by October 7, 2028 (Response § 13.5).
An FI with "high risk use cases" (Response § 13.5)"appropriate lifecycle controls" for these use cases (Response § 13.5)The FI "should apply" these controls "as soon as possible, and not delay application until the end of the 24-month transition period" (Response § 13.5).
Basic AI governance: an FI to which the condition above applies (§ 2.3)Basic AI governance policies and procedures (§ 2.5)The FI "should complete implementation by 12 months" (Response § 13.6), which is October 7, 2027.

The MAS FEAT Frameworks in Modulos (MFF-2 and OFF-2) are for MAS FEAT, not the Guidelines. See Work not held in Modulos.

Use MAS FEAT in Modulos ​

Modulos gives MAS FEAT as MFF-2 at AI System level and OFF-2 at Organization level. For the recommended AI System structure, Requirement mapping, and the recommended sequence, see MAS FEAT in Modulos.

How to use this information ​

For MAS FEAT, see this information:

MAS FEAT principles and Veritas assessment

AIDA, data subjects, materiality, the 14 FEAT principles, and the Veritas assessment

MAS FEAT in Modulos

MFF-2 and OFF-2, Requirement mapping, the recommended steps, and the work for your organization to do

Frequently asked questions about MAS FEAT

MAS FEAT, materiality, transparency, recourse, Veritas, and the Guidelines

MAS FEAT FAQ ​

For MAS FEAT, see MAS FEAT FAQ.

Sources ​

Disclaimer

This page gives general information. It is not legal advice.