Standards Comparison

    EU AI Act

    Mandatory
    2024

    EU regulation for risk-based AI governance and safety

    VS

    MAS TRM

    Mandatory
    2021

    Singapore guidelines for technology risk management in finance.

    Quick Verdict

    EU AI Act mandates risk-based AI regulation across EU sectors with conformity and fines, while MAS TRM provides supervisory tech risk guidelines for Singapore FIs emphasizing governance and resilience. Organizations adopt AI Act for EU market access, TRM for regulatory compliance.

    Artificial Intelligence

    EU AI Act

    Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 Artificial Intelligence Act

    Cost
    €€€
    Complexity
    Medium
    Implementation Time
    18-24 months

    Key Features

    • Risk-based classification into four AI risk tiers
    • Prohibits unacceptable-risk AI practices outright
    • Requires conformity assessment and CE marking for high-risk AI
    • Imposes obligations on general-purpose AI models
    • Enforces via fines up to 7% global turnover
    Technology Risk Management

    MAS TRM

    MAS Technology Risk Management Guidelines

    Cost
    €€€€
    Complexity
    Medium
    Implementation Time
    12-18 months

    Key Features

    • Board and senior management accountability for oversight
    • Proportional controls based on risk and criticality
    • End-to-end lifecycle from governance to audit
    • Third-party risk assessment and ongoing monitoring
    • Annual penetration testing for internet-facing systems

    Detailed Analysis

    A comprehensive look at the specific requirements, scope, and impact of each standard.

    EU AI Act Details

    What It Is

    EU AI Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689) is a comprehensive horizontal regulation for AI, entering force August 2024. It adopts a risk-based architecture prohibiting unacceptable risks, regulating high-risk systems, transparency for limited-risk, and minimal oversight for others. Scope covers AI value chain with extraterritorial reach.

    Key Components

    • **Four risk tiersunacceptable (banned), high-risk (Annex I/III), limited-risk (transparency), minimal-risk.
    • High-risk obligations: risk management (Art. 9), data governance (Art. 10), documentation (Arts. 11-13), human oversight (Art. 14), cybersecurity (Art. 15).
    • GPAI rules (Chapter V) with systemic risk duties.
    • Conformity assessment, CE marking, EU registration; hybrid enforcement.

    Why Organizations Use It

    Mandatory for EU-market AI to avoid fines up to 7% global turnover. Builds trust, ensures market access, manages risks in sectors like employment, healthcare. Enhances governance, competitiveness via standards alignment.

    Implementation Overview

    Phased (6-36 months): inventory/classify AI, build QMS, conduct assessments. Cross-functional for all sizes; notified bodies for some high-risk. Ongoing monitoring required.

    MAS TRM Details

    What It Is

    MAS Technology Risk Management (TRM) Guidelines (revised January 2021) are supervisory guidelines issued by Singapore's Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for financial institutions. They provide principles-based guidance on managing technology and cyber risks across governance, operations, and resilience, emphasizing proportional implementation based on risk profile and complexity.

    Key Components

    • 15 main sections covering governance, risk frameworks, secure development, IT service management, resilience, access controls, cryptography, cyber operations, assessments, and audit.
    • Synthesized into 12 core principles like board accountability, asset classification, third-party oversight, and defence-in-depth.
    • No fixed controls; focuses on outcomes for CIA triad (confidentiality, integrity, availability).
    • Compliance via supervisory review, not formal certification.

    Why Organizations Use It

    • Meets MAS supervisory expectations for licensed financial institutions.
    • Enhances cyber resilience, reduces incident impact, and builds stakeholder trust.
    • Supports digital transformation while mitigating systemic risks.

    Implementation Overview

    • Risk-based approach: asset inventories, control mapping, testing regimes.
    • Applies to all MAS-supervised FIs; scalable by size/complexity.
    • Involves governance setup, policy development, training, and ongoing assurance. (178 words)

    Key Differences

    Scope

    EU AI Act
    AI systems risk classification, high-risk obligations
    MAS TRM
    Technology/cyber risk governance, operations, resilience

    Industry

    EU AI Act
    All sectors using AI, EU-wide extraterritorial
    MAS TRM
    Singapore financial institutions only

    Nature

    EU AI Act
    Mandatory EU regulation with fines
    MAS TRM
    Supervisory guidelines, proportionate implementation

    Testing

    EU AI Act
    Conformity assessments, notified bodies
    MAS TRM
    Penetration testing, vulnerability assessments annually

    Penalties

    EU AI Act
    Up to 7% global turnover fines
    MAS TRM
    Supervisory actions, fines via other notices

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Common questions about EU AI Act and MAS TRM

    EU AI Act FAQ

    MAS TRM FAQ

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