. in 2020, mas imposed on providers of digital asset services the same anti - money laundering requirements that apply to other financial institutions. earlier this year, these rules were expanded to singapore - incorporated entities providing digital asset services overseas. singapore ’ s requirements are consistent with international standards, namely those of the financial action task force ( fatf ). manage technology and cyber risks another risk that mas has sought to address early on is technology and cyber related risk. mas is one of the earliest regulators to impose on digital asset players the same cyber hygiene standards and technology risk management principles that is expected of other financial institutions. but technology and cyber risks are continually evolving, for example, coding bugs in smart contracts and compromise of digital token wallets or their encryption keys. mas is reviewing measures to manage these and other technology and cyber risks, including further requirements to protect customers ’ digital assets and uplift system availability. these steps are in line with what other jurisdictions are considering, including in the eu and japan. safeguard against harm to retail investors mas has since 2017 been reiterating the risks of trading in cryptocurrencies. prices of cryptocurrencies are highly volatile, driven largely by speculation rather than any underlying economic fundamentals. it is very risky for the public to put their monies in such cryptocurrencies, as the perceived valuation of these cryptocurrencies could plummet rapidly when sentiments shift. we have seen this happen repeatedly. mas has issued numerous advisories warning consumers that they could potentially lose all the monies they put into cryptocurrencies. just take for example luna, the sister token of the so - called stablecoin terrausd. luna was, at one point, worth over us $ 100 but tumbled to zero. mas has taken early decisive steps to mitigate consumer harm. since january this year, mas has restricted digital asset players from promoting cryptocurrency services at public spaces. this has led to the dismantling of bitcoin atms and the removal of advertisements in mrt stations. but despite these warnings and measures, surveys show that consumers are increasingly trading in cryptocurrencies. this appears to be a global phenomenon, not just in singapore. many consumers are still enticed by the prospect of sharp price increases in cryptocurrencies. they seem to be irrationally oblivious about the risks of cryptocurrency trading. consumer - related risks have gained the attention of regulators around the

high loan - to - value ratios seems to have improved markedly over the past decade, and thus the movement of renters into homeownership is generally to be applauded, even if it causes our measures of debt service of homeowners to rise somewhat. another possible reason for rising credit card debt ratios is the use of credit cards for a variety of new purposes. the rise in credit card debt in the latter half of the 1990s is mirrored by a fall in unsecured personal loans. reflecting this general trend, the proportion of personal loans in credit union portfolios has been declining as well. the wider availability of credit cards and their ease of use have encouraged this substitution. the convenience of credit cards also has caused homeowners to shift the payment for a variety of expenditures to credit cards. in sum, credit card debt service ratios have risen to some extent because households prefer credit cards as a method of payment. * * * in contrast to the increase for homeowners, the rise in debt service ratios was steep for renters in the latter half of the 1990s. the rise for renters, as for homeowners, is concentrated in credit card lending and thus may reflect some of the same factors that have influenced homeowner debt service ratios. but unlike homeowners, renters in recent years have been using a higher fraction of their incomes for payments on student loans and used - car debt. renters tend to be younger and have lower incomes than homeowners, so the fact that student loans and used - car payments are a larger share of their income is not surprising, although this trend might be worrisome if it indicates greater difficulties in becoming financially established. in addition, some of the rise in the debt service ratios of renters, unlike that of homeowners, occurred during the most recent recession, a difference highlighting the fact that incomes of renters are generally more at risk during economic downturns. renters ’ debt service ratios have stabilized during the past two years, a hopeful sign that is likely correlated with the overall improvement in the economy. however, the rise in the renter debt service ratio might indicate some trends among these households that may be of concern and that need to be investigated further. mitigating homeowner payment shocks rising debt service ratios are a concern if they reflect household financial stress and presage a drop in consumption or a rise in losses by lenders. most homeowners and renters are aware of