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Banking Ordinance Notice amendment to be gazetted
The Banking Ordinance (Amendment of Seventh Schedule) Notice 1996 will be published in the Gazette on Friday (February 9).
A government spokesman said the Notice would achieve the effect of removing the reciprocity requirement in respect of banking applications for authorisation under the Banking Ordinance from companies which were incorporated in World Trade Organisation (WTO) members.
The amendment would enable Hong Kong to fulfil a commitment under the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services, the spokesman said.
"A core group of WTO members which included Hong Kong reached an agreement in July 1995 to provide access to their markets on a most-favoured-nation basis.
"As Hong Kong considered the overall commitments made by other participants generally satisfactory, we agreed, inter alia, to remove the reciprocity criterion in respect of banking applications from other WTO members," he said.
He said the amendment would not have any adverse impact on Hong Kong's banking authorisation system as the reciprocity criterion was only one of the many authorisation criteria of vetting banking applications.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) would continue to ensure that applicants from overseas countries meet all the other fit and proper tests (for example adequacy of home supervision, fitness and propriety of directors, controllers and managers, adequate financial resources) set out in the relevant schedule of the Banking Ordinance, he added.
At present, where a company incorporated outside Hong Kong is seeking authorisation to carry on banking business in Hong Kong, it is required under the Banking Ordinance that there is, in the opinion of HKMA, an acceptable degree of reciprocity in respect of banks incorporated in Hong Kong seeking to carry on banking business in the place where the company is incorporated.
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