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MONEY LENDERS (AMENDMENT) BILL 1988
19. Clause 22(b) deletes subsection (3) of section 26 of the principal Ordinance and inserts new subsections (3) and (4). The old subsection has been deleted because it is redundant in view of section 97 of the Banking Ordinance. New subsection (3) requires any advertisement issued or pub- lished in respect of a money lender's business to show the number of his licence. The new subsection (4) provides that the name of a licensed money lender as specified in his licence shall be deemed to include any change by law of the name of the money lender.
20. Clause 24 repeals and replaces section 28 of the principal Ordin- ance. The new section 28 empowers the Registrar and certain police officers to enter the premises of any money lender, and inspect his books, if there is a reasonable suspicion the money lender has committed an offence against the principal Ordinance. Such a police officer is also empowered to seize certain documents of the money lender if he reasonably believes that those documents relate to the offence. The documents must be returned to the money lender if no prosecution is instituted within the specified period.
21. Clause 25(a), (b), (d) and (ƒ) amends section 29 of the principal Ordinance to insert new offence provisions required as a result of the amendments made to the principal Ordinance by the Bill.
22. Clause 29 inserts a new section 32A in the principal Ordinance. The new section provides that proceedings for an offence under section 24 or 29(3) of the principal Ordinance may be instituted within 2 years of the commission of the offence.
23. Clause 31 inserts new sections 33A, 33B, 33C and 33D. New section 33A empowers the Registrar, after consultation with the Financial Secretary, to exempt a class of persons, or a loan, or class of loans, by a class of persons, from all or specified provisions of the principal Ordinance. New section 33B empowers the Registrar, after consultation with the Financial Secretary, to exempt particular persons from all or specified provisions of the principal Ordinance. Clauses 17(b) and 23(b) consequentially amend sections 21 and 27 of the principal Ordinance, as exemptions previously given under those sections will now be given under new sections 33A and 33B. New section 33C provides that certain loans shall be deemed to be loans specified in Part 2 of Schedule 1.
24. Clause 33 repeals and replaces the First Schedule to the principal Ordinance (being the list of exempted persons and exempted loans). The new Schedule 1 specifies a wider range of exempted persons and loans. (See, in particular, paragraph 5 in Part 1, and paragraphs 4, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 in Part 2, of the new Schedule 1). It is considered that, in particular, the new loans specified will reduce much of the ambiguity that has existed as to whether the principal Ordinance extends to what are otherwise normal commercial transactions engaged in by persons well able to "protect" themselves (for example, companies referred to in paragraph 12 in Part 2 of the new Schedule 1).
25. The Bill has no significant Public Service staffing or public expenditure implications.
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