Leon Lim was quoted in The Business Times by Benjamin Cher and Isabelle Chong. The article followed the news on financial services platform Chocolate Finance’s temporary suspension of instant withdrawals due to “high demand”, and questioned the topic of fund managers “masquerading” as banks.

Leon was quoted saying that while a licensed fund manager may be empowered to take deposits within the remit of its work, it should not principally be seen as a deposit-taking and interest-yielding platform. He noted that these institutions, such as holders of CMS licences, are permitted to accept deposits only to the extent that it is solely incidental to the carrying on of the businesses for which they were licensed.

He added that customers should be certain about what business a financial institution is in and not treat every licensed entity as if it were a bank.

The article was also syndicated in Singapore Law Watch on 21 March 2025.