Hong Kong Ordinances

BANKING ORDINANCE - SECT 12

Restriction on business of taking deposits

(Past version on 30/06/1997).

(1) No business of taking deposits shall be carried on in Hong Kong except by
an authorized institution (other than an authorized institution the
authorization of which is for the time being suspended under section  24 or
25). (Amended 49 of 1995 s. 5)

(2) A deposit-taking company shall not take any short-term deposit in Hong
Kong.

(3) A deposit-taking company shall not, without the written permission of the
Monetary Authority, repay any deposit within a period of less than the period
specified in item 1 of the First Schedule from the date on which the deposit
was taken by the company. (Amended 82 of 1992 s. 25)

(4) No deposit-taking company or restricted licence bank shall receive money
on savings account.

(5) Subject to section 14, a restricted licence bank may take
short-term deposits. (Amended 49 of 1995 s. 5)

(6) Any person who contravenes subsection (1), every director, every
chief executive and every manager of a deposit-taking company which
contravenes subsection (2), (3) or (4), and every director, every chief 
executive and every manager of a restricted licence bank which contravenes
subsection (4), commits an offence and is liable- (Amended 32 of 2001 s. 24)

   (a)  on conviction upon indictment to a fine at tier 8 and to imprisonment
        for 5 years; or

   (b)  on summary conviction to a fine at tier 5 and to imprisonment for 6
        months. (Amended 4 of 1997 s. 27)

(7) Any person who enters into a contract or arrangement, or uses any device
or scheme, which has the effect of, or is designed to have the effect of,
avoiding subsection (1), (2), (3) or (4) commits an offence and is liable-

   (a)  on conviction upon indictment to a fine at tier 8 and to imprisonment
        for 5 years; or

   (b)  on summary conviction to a fine at tier 5 and to imprisonment for 6
        months. (Amended 4 of 1997 s. 27)

(8) For the purposes of any proceedings for an offence under subsection (6),
if it is proved that a person took deposits on at least 5 separate occasions
within any period of 30 days, that person shall, in the absence of evidence to
the contrary, be deemed to have been carrying on a business of taking
deposits. (Amended 49 of 1995 s. 5) (Amended 3 of 1990 s. 4)