Granting of banking licence to EFG Private Bank SA

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced today (Friday) that the Monetary Authority has granted a banking licence to EFG Private Bank SA (EFGPB) under the Banking Ordinance. This grant of banking licence took effect on 14 November 2001.

EFGPB is a subsidiary of EFG Bank European Financial Group (EFGBG), both of which are banks incorporated in Switzerland subject to the prudential supervision of the Swiss Federal Banking Commission. According to The Banker, July 2001 issue, EFGBG ranks 5^th and 6^th respectively in terms of tier one capital and total assets in Switzerland.

With the granting of a banking licence to EFGPB, the number of licensed banks in Hong Kong has increased to 149.

For further enquiries, please contact:

Jasmin Fung, Manager (Press), at 2878 8246 or
Thomas Chan, Senior Manager (Press), at 2878 1480

Hong Kong Monetary Authority
16 November 2001