- 3
بھر و
人
Under the present Ordinance, information can
only be disclosed in legal proceedings or in reports of
☺ such proceedings. To allow for greater cooperation between
enforcement agencies, it is proposed that information may
also be disclosed to the Financial Secretary, the Secretary
for Monetary Affairs and any other public officer
authorised by the Financial Secretary.
9 7.
•
The third set of amendments seeks to widen the
exemptions from all or part of the
scope of existing
interest rate of
provisions of the Ordinance. Banks and deposit-taking
companies licensed Or registered under the Banking
Ordinance are to be completely removed from the ambit of
the Money Lenders Ordinance. At present, they are subject
only to the provisions which specify a maximum effective
per cent rate of 60 a year. We consider that the highly
competitive environment for bank lending business provides
adequate safeguards against exploitation of borrowers.
per cent More importantly, the
the 60 restriction could inhibit the
608)
proper working of the interest rate mechanism in the
wholesale money market in support of the linked exchange
rate.
بھر و
The terms of large corporate and
and syndicated
loans which may make references to wholesale money market
interest rates, are also to be exempted from the interest
rate ceiling. Large borrowers should be able
be able to protect
themselves. It is, therefore, proposed that the provisions