End
(d)
(e)
46
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority, in response to the complaints concerning the use of debt collection agencies by Als received through the hotline established in April, issued a letter to all Als in May 1996. Als were advised to instruct their debt collection agencies in writing that the agencies must not resort to intimidation or violence, either verbal or physical, against any person in their debt recovery actions, and that Als and their debt collection agencies must not try to recover debt from third parties including referees, family members or friends of the debtor if these persons have not entered into a formal contractual agreement with the Als to guarantee liabilities of the debtor. Furthermore, Als were asked to stop passing information about referees or third parties other than debtors or guarantors to their debt collection agencies. Further guidance on the use of debt collection agencies will be covered in the Code. The Working Group has agreed that this section, together with the section on personal referees, should be prepared and issued in advance of the rest of the Code. It is expected that these two sections will be issued around the end of June 1996; and
All AIs need to comply with the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance in the collection, use and holding of customer information. The Code will also provide further guidance on the confidentiality of customer information, such as the need for AIs to define clearly and specifically the circumstances in which customers' confidential information may be disclosed and to explain in a clear manner the reason for and the scope of disclosure when seeking customers' consent.
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