Seeking public feedback on amendments to Co-ops Act

1. The Registrar of Co-operative Societies (“Registrar”) is seeking public feedback on the proposed amendments to the Co-operative Societies Act from 28 April to 26 May 2017. The proposed amendments aim to raise governance standards of credit co-operative societies (“credit co-ops”) to better safeguard members’ deposits, facilitate co-ops’ operations and enhance regulatory powers to better protect members’ interests.

2. Co-ops are membership-based business entities that operate on the principles of self-help and mutual assistance to achieve common economic and social objectives. There are currently 84 registered co-ops in Singapore, with a total membership of about 1.5 million.

3. Co-ops are regulated through the Co-operative Societies Act, which was last revised in 2008. The amendments then were to enhance the governance and accountability of co-ops as well as to facilitate a risk-focused supervision of credit coops. 

Summary of Key Proposed Amendments

4. The key features of the proposed amendments to the Co-operative Societies Act are as follows:

   1. Raising Governance Standards 

      1. The Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) conducted a policy review of credit co-ops to strengthen governance and prudential standards of thesector. The legislative changes will enable MCCY to implement the proposed recommendations, which have been refined following an earlier public consultation and discussions with the industry. For example, co-ops will be permitted to co-opt two new persons into their Committee of Management (“COM”), even if there is no vacancy during the year, to strengthen the COM. The Minister may also prescribe Rules to require credit co-ops to appoint specific key officers, and to introduce qualification and training requirements for such officers.

   2. Facilitating Co-ops’ Operations 

      • Other proposed changes aim to facilitate co-ops’ operations, including the removal of existing prohibitions to membership eligibility, as well as providing moreclarity on record-keeping and the retention of documents.  

   3. Enhancing Regulatory Powers 

      • The Registrar’s powers will be enhanced to enable the Registry to better protect the interests of both members and the broader public. This include the ability to vary or add conditions to the registration of a co-op where necessary, and deregistering the co-op should it fail to meet such conditions. The Registrar will also be empowered to take swifter action and protective measures to stabilise co-ops, and maintain members’ confidence when co-ops are in financial distress.

Invitation for feedback

5. Interested parties may view the proposed amendments to the Co-operative Societies Act online at www.mccy.gov.sg/sector/policies/proposed-amendments-to-the-cooperative-societies-act and submit feedback to either of the following: 

Email:

MCCY_Regcoop@mccy.gov.sg  

Address:  

Registry of Co-operative Societies

Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth

140 Hill Street, #02-00 Old Hill Street Police Station

Singapore 179369 

Enclosed: Annex A – Fact Sheet on Co-operatives

 
Registry of Co-operative Societies

Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth 

28 April 2017