The Monetary Authority of Macau (AMCM) plans to impose stricter regulations on the method and content of advertising activities by local financial institutions, lawmaker-cum-restaurateur Andrew Chan Chak Mo, who heads the Legislative Assembly’s (AL) 2nd Standing Committee, told reporters yesterday.
Chan made the remarks after chairing a closed-door meeting of the committee yesterday, which is reviewing in detail a government-initiated bill regulating the city’s financial system, which proposes to introduce the licensing of limited-scope banks, aka restricted licence banks.
The current decree law regulating the city’s financial system, which was promulgated in 1993, is entitled Financial System Act.
Chan said financial institutions will not be able to advertise “indiscriminately”, and if a bank fails to comply with the official requirements, the AMCM may order the respective person in charge to immediately publish appropriate corrections, or suspend or terminate the advertising activities. Some committee members asked the government to clarify the definition of “person in charge”, Chan said.
The bill proposes that those working for financial institutions would be legally bound by confidentiality rules, which means that members of banking institutions including staff, accountants, advisors, trustees and other service providers shall not divulge or use information that comes to their knowledge as a result of their work, even they no longer work for the respective institution.
In particular, according to the bill, they shall not disclose information such as the names of customers, account activities or the use of funds, Chan stressed.
However, Chan quoted some committee members as saying that the bill does not propose to impose the confidentiality obligations on financial institutions in their capacity as juridical persons, and therefore are concerned as to whether the respective juridical person will be responsible for any breach of confidentiality by its staff as a result of improper supervision by the institution.
In addition, Chan said that the bill does not cover financial institutions such as insurance companies, currency exchange operators and the Pension Fund, which are governed by separate legislation.
This file photo downloaded in the official website of the Monetary Authority of Macau (AMCM) yesterday shows the headquarters of AMCM in Calçada do Gaio.
