•
- 8 -
their activities, but it was also made very clear, and
I must stress this, that once information was available
and conditions had improved, consideration would be
given to more comprehensive controls and supervision.
14.
By 1978, there had been substantial improvement
in the international scene, and it was considered that the
time was right for the next step. So in that year, the Deposit- taking Companies Ordinance was amended to require deposit-taking companies to make monthly returns to the Commissioner. This was implemented from end-December 1978. The amendments
made that year also required deposit -taking companies to
comply with a minimum liquidity requirement. This was
implemented, after some further amendment, from 1st January
1980. These changes, and the power given to the Commissioner to inspect deposit-taking companies, reflected the Government's decision to Begin exercising a more positive supervisory role
over these institutions.
15.
In introducing these amendments, the then Financial Secretary was at pains to point out the rationale behind them.
He said that in respect of the financial sector of our economy,
the Government had three responsibilities and I would like to
repeat them here. The first responsibility is to attempt to
protect members of the public against eventualities against
which they cannot be expected to protect themselves. The second responsibility is to attempt to ensure that the financial sector
adequately services the requirements of a growing and developing
economy. The third responsibility is to ensure that the
development of Hong Kong as a financial centre is not unreasonably
constrained. You will note the use of the word attempt in the first
/responsibility...