A digest of recent legal and regulatory developments follows.
Lowering entry thresholds of the Hong Kong banking market
The Banking Ordinance (Amendment of Seventh Schedule) Notice took effect in May this year. This instrument revised certain licensing requirements for banks operating in Hong Kong. The amendments were generally aimed at lowering the entry criteria for Hong Kong’s banking sector.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority ("HKMA") will to some extent equalise the treatment of overseas and local banks by applying to the former a much lower asset size test which previously applied only to local banks. Certain requirements for the upgrading of local deposit-taking companies and restricted licence banks into licensed banks have been relaxed. Certain restrictions on local banking operations receiving subsidies from their parent institutions have also been relaxed.
