HONG KONG MONETARY AUTHORITY Annual Report 1996
HONG KONG MONETARY AUTHORITY
TRANSPARENCY OF THE BANKING SECTOR
The HKMA will continue its work on refining the disclosure framework currently in place to ensure that financial reporting by banks in Hong Kong keeps pace with local and international developments.
MONEY LAUNDERING
The HKMA is currently revising the Guideline on Money Laundering issued in July 1993 to take account of the changes to the money laundering legislation and a stocktaking review of anti-money laundering measures undertaken by the Financial Action Task Force. The revised Guideline will be strengthened by adding new sections on customer identification with respect to shell corporations and trust and nominee accounts. The revised Guideline is expected to be issued in the first half of 1997.
EFFICIENT BANKING SUPERVISION
In January 1995, the banking industry and the HKMA successfully implemented a system to facilitate the submission of returns via floppy diskette. To further enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the returns submission process, the HKMA has explored the possibility of automating the submission through electronic transmission. The feasibility study conducted by the HKMA concluded that, with the very good telecommunications infrastructure in Hong Kong, the electronic submission of returns can be readily implemented at a very reasonable cost. The confidentiality of the information transmitted can be safeguarded by employing an advanced encryption and authentication facility. The computer network which is used for submission of returns can also be used for other communications between the HKMA and authorised institutions. The HKMA was very encouraged by the results of the study and the confirmation by institutions in general of their support for the initiative. As a result, it has decided to implement the electronic transmission system with a tentative target implementation date of 31 December 1997. A detailed design of the system was completed in 1996. An industry working group will be set up in early 1997 to advise on the various stages of the design and implementation of the project.