Main article:
							List of banks in Singapore 
							This is a list of 
							banks with operations in Singapore. Location of 
							incorporation is provided in brackets for foreign 
							banks. There are, at present, 111 commercial banks, 
							49 merchant banks, and 45 banks with representative 
							offices in Singapore. (EFA=Exempt Financial Adviser; 
							ACU=Asian Currency Unit; SGS=Singapore Government 
							Securities Market)
							 
							
							Commercial banks
							Commercial banks in Singapore may undertake 
							universal banking, such as the taking of deposits 
							and the provision of cheque services and lending, as 
							well any other business authorised by the Monetary 
							Authority of Singapore, including financial advisory 
							services, insurance brokering and capital market 
							services, as long as they are permitted under 
							section 30 of the Banking Act. Since July 2001, 
							banks were no longer permitted to engage in non-financial 
							activities.
							
							Local banks
							In a bid to encourage consolidation of the local 
							banking industry to form larger banking 
							congolmerates better able to regionalise and compete 
							with foreign banks, the government liberalised the 
							banking sector by awarding greater liberty for 
							foreign banks to operate in Singapore in 2001. Since 
							then, the number of local full banks has shrunk by 
							more than half to 6 today.
							
							Full banks
							There are presently 6 locally-incorporated full 
							banks in Singapore, owned by three banking groups. 
							These full banks have the liberty to provide any 
							financial service as permitted by the Banking Act.
							
							
								
									
										
											
											
											Merchant banks
											The 
											typical activities of merchant banks 
											include corporate finance, 
											underwriting of share and bond 
											issues, mergers and acquisitions, 
											portfolio investment management, 
											management consultancy, personal 
											banking and other fee-based 
											activities. merchant banks may not 
											accept sight or savings deposits or 
											borrow from the public. However they 
											may accept deposits or borrow from 
											banks, finance companies, 
											shareholders and companies 
											controlled by their shareholders.