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Revised Laws of Saint Lucia
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BANKING ACT
Revised Laws of Saint Lucia (2023)
Back to Revised Laws of Saint Lucia (2023)
BANKING ACT
ACT
PART 1 PRELIMINARY
1. Short title and commencement
2. Interpretation
1. Citation
Schedule
PART 2 LICENCES
3. Requirement for licence
4. Examination of books of person carrying on banking business without a licence
5. Appointment of receiver for failure to hold licence
6. Repayment of funds obtained without licence
7. Application for licence
8. Grant or denial of licence
9. Licence fees and penalty for default
10. Permissible activities
11. Conditions for licence
12. Variation of conditions for licence
13. Register of licensed financial institutions
14. Revocation of licence
15. Requirement to inform Minister for finance
16. Restricted words, names, and practices
17. Display of licence certificate
18. Offices and branches deemed one licensed financial institution
19. Authorisation of location and approval of new business premises
PART 3 OWNERSHIP STRUCTURES
20. Ownership or control of licensed financial institutions
21. Written application for approval
22. Criteria for approval for ownership or control
23. Granting of approval
24. Person with control to be fit and proper
25. Grounds for disapproval of a transfer
26. Prohibition against selling below supervisory threshold
27. Group holdings to be deemed holdings of single member
28. Quarterly reports on ownership and control
29. Report by foreign licensed financial institution on change of control
30. Sanctions
31. Prohibition against transfer and acquisition of interest
32. Non-applicability of this Part to government or other persons
33. Variation of supervisory thresholds
34. Approval of application for licence by financial holding company
PART 4 FINANCIAL HOLDING COMPANIES
35. Requirement for licensing of financial holding companies
36. Application for licence by financial holding companies
37. Considerations to grant licence to financial holding company
38. Grant or denial of licence to financial holding company
39. Conditions for licence to financial holding company
40. Restriction on activities of financial holding companies
41. Limitation of risk to licensed financial institution
42. Revocation of licence of financial holding company
43. Actions of fundamental change requiring approval
PART 5 FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS AND LIMITATIONS
44. Minimum paid-up or assigned capital
45. Maintenance of reserve fund
46. Adequacy of capital
47. Additional capital in respect of special risks
48. Liquidity requirement
49. Limit on exposures
50. Restrictions on exposures to related parties
51. Restrictions on lending to employees
52. Prohibition of advances against security of own shares
53. Prohibition on engaging or investing in trade and outsourcing
54. Financial subsidiaries permitted
55. Restrictions on investments in real property
56. Time limit for compliance with financial requirements
57. Maintenance of specified assets
58. Record keeping and reporting required
PART 6 AUDIT AND INFORMATION
59. Annual audit, report and publication of financial statements and results
60. Appointment of external auditor
61. Duties of external auditor
62. Remuneration of external auditor
63. Immediate reports to Central Bank
64. Resignation or removal of external auditor
65. Request for copies of reports
66. External auditor to report to Central Bank
67. No liability for breach of duty
68. Failure to comply with request
69. Audited financial statements
PART 7 SUPERVISION
70. Central Bank examination
71. Consolidated supervision
72. Prudential requirements
73. Reporting of group structures
74. Disclosure and access to books and records by Central Bank Examiner for examination
75. Central Bank's powers of remedial action
76. Additional Central Bank remedial actions
77. Remedial actions against directors, officers, employees or significant shareholders
78. Additional Central Bank powers of remedial action against directors, officers, employees or significant shareholders
79. Supplemental powers
80. Failure to comply with remedial actions
81. Effective date of order, warning, agreement, direction
82. Suspension of persons charged with criminal offence etc.
83. Dismissal of criminal case not a bar to Central Bank action
84. Persons convicted may be prohibited from banking business
85. Appointment of observer
86. Actions required for adequately capitalised licensed financial institutions or affiliates suffering losses
87. Actions required for undercapitalised licensed financial institutions, or affiliates
88. Notification of removal of directors and officers
89. Submission of returns and production of information as required by the Central Bank
90. Central Bank may request further information
91. Extension of period for providing information
92. Disclosure of basis for charges and fees
93. Restriction on advertising likely to mislead the public
94. Agreement or arrangement with foreign supervisory authority
95. Furnishing of statement or return to participating governments
96. Prohibition against providing false, misleading statements
PART 8 CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
97. Minimum criteria for determining whether a person is fit and proper
98. Criteria for determining whether a person is fit and proper to be a significant shareholder
99. Determining whether business carried out in prudent manner
100. Requirement for fit and proper policy
101. Notification to Central Bank of appointment of officers and directors
102. Responsibility of board for corporate governance
103. Removal and disqualification of director or officer
104. Right to make representation
105. Notice of confirmed removal
106. Person to be removed from office
107. Effective date of removal
108. Failure to comply with a direction
109. Failure to comply with section 103
110. Declaration and registration of related interest and conflict of interest by director
111. Responsibility for deceiving statements and obstruction of audit or authorised examination
112. Management's duty of compliance with the requirements of the laws
113. Liability of directors, officers and partners
PART 9 OFFICIAL ADMINISTRATION
114. Grounds for appointing an official administrator
115. Notice of appointment of official administrator
116. Effective date of appointment
117. Persons qualified to be official administrator
118. Period of appointment
119. Replacement and removal of official administrator
120. Official administrator to be fit and proper
121. Declaration of conflict of interest
122. Transactions to be approved by Central Bank
123. Failure of official administrator to disclose interest
124. General powers of the official administrator
125. Central Bank oversight of official administration
126. Suspension of dividends
127. Moratorium and effect of official administration on proceedings
128. Suspension of contractual early termination rights
129. Taking control of the licensed financial institution
130. Inventory and plan of action to resolve the licensed financial institution or licensed financial holding company
131. Capital increase by existing shareholders
132. Recapitalization by new shareholders
133. Mergers, sales and other restructurings
134. Mandatory restructuring of liabilities
135. Misconduct by shareholders, directors, officers or others
136. Expenses of the official administration
137. Termination of official administration
PART 10 RECEIVERSHIP AND COMPULSORY LIQUIDATION
138. Grounds of receivership
139. Qualifications and compensation for receiver
140. Commencement and notice of receivership
141. Central Bank oversight of receiver
142. General powers of receiver
143. Transfer of assets and liabilities
144. Effects of receivership
145. Taking control of the licensed financial institution or licensed financial holding company
146. Repudiation of contracts
147. Avoidance of pre-receivership transfers
148. Obligations of lessors of licensed financial institution or licensed financial holding company premises and utility providers
149. Protection of payment, clearance, and settlement systems
150. Determination of claims
151. Authority to disallow claims
152. Claims relating to eligible financial contracts
153. Priorities in payment of claims
154. Unclaimed funds
155. Safe deposits and unclaimed property
156. Termination of receivership and final reporting to the Central Bank
157. Receiver to notify Central Bank of fraudulent activities
PART 11 VOLUNTARY LIQUIDATION
158. Voluntary liquidation
159. Cessation of business operations
160. Notice to depositors of voluntary liquidation
161. Rights of depositors and creditors in voluntary liquidation
162. Distribution of assets
163. Insufficiency of assets in discharge of obligations in voluntary liquidation
164. Audited accounts, and conclusion of liquidation
165. Review of bank resolutions under Parts 9 or 10
166. Non-application of Companies Act, Cap. 13.01
PART 12 ABANDONED PROPERTY
167. Abandoned property
168. Report, publication and disposal of abandoned property
169. Abandoned property to vest in the Crown
170. Safe deposit boxes
171. Sale of contents of a safe deposit box
172. Handling of proceeds of sale of abandoned property
173. Claims on abandoned property
174. Failure to file report or to pay property
PART 13 TRANSFER OF BANKING BUSINESS
175. Banking business vesting order
176. Supplementary provision as to transfers
177. Transfers to be subject to stamp duty
PART 14 MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
178. Secrecy of information
179. Administrative penalties
180. Administrative penalties to be placed to the credit of Central Bank
181. Schedule 3 offences
182. Working days of licensed financial institutions and licensed holding company
183. Regulations
184. Prudential standards
185. Court's powers in legal claims against Central Bank
186. Bridge financial institutions and asset management vehicles
187. Participating Government financing of transfers of deposits
188. Immunity
189. Non-application of Aliens (Licensing) Act
190. Provisions applicable to credit institution, class of credit institution and financial group
191. Amendment of Schedules
192. Repeal and savings
193. Transitional
Schedule 1
Schedule 2
Schedule 3
Schedule 4
SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION
Banking (Credit Institutions) (Licence Fees) Order – Section 12 (Statutory Instrument 96/1998)
1. Citation
2. Licence fees
Banking (Licence Fees) Order – Section 12 (Statutory Instrument 36/2004)
1. Citation
2. Licence fees
Schedule
Banking (Credit Institution Capital Requirement) Order – Section 13 (Statutory Instrument 54/1994)
1. Citation
2. Minimum capital requirements
3. Exemption
Schedule
PART 1 ASSETS
PART 2 LIABILITIES
PART 3 CAPITAL
PART 4 PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT
PART 5 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Banking (Dealing in Shares) Order – Section 16 (Statutory Instrument 97/2001)
1. Citation
2. Dealing in shares
Banking (Disclosures in Statement of Accounts) Regulations – Section 33 (Statutory Instrument 7/1994)
1. Citation
2. Interpretation
3. Disclosures to be made in statement of accounts
Schedule
Banking (Abandoned Property) Regulations – Section 183 (Statutory Instrument 188/2021)
1. Citation
2. Interpretation
3. Publication of abandoned property
4. Report on abandoned property
5. Custody of abandoned property
6. Delivery of contents of a safe deposit box
7. Sale of contents of a safe deposit box
8. Deduction of expenses
9. Handling of proceeds from sale of contents of a safe deposit box
10. Abandoned property remaining unsold
11. Claim on abandoned property
12. Claim on contents of a safe deposit box
13. Notice of settled claim
14. Retention of customer records
15. Prohibited items
16. Completion of forms
17. Revocation
Schedule
Banking (Capital Adequacy and Capital Ratios) Regulations (Statutory Instrument 151/2007)
Banking (RBTT Bank Caribbean Limited) Banking Business Vesting Order – Section 175 (Statutory Instrument 55/2015)
1. Citation
2. Interpretation
3. Vesting of banking business
4. Approved business premises
Schedule
Banking (FirstCaribbean International Finance Corporation (Leeward and Windward) Ltd. and FirstCaribbean International Bank (Barbados) Limited) Banking Business Vesting Order – Sections 175(3) and (5) (Statutory Instrument 115/2019)
1. Citation
2. Interpretation
3. Transfer of liabilities and assets
4. Corporation tax
Banking (Republic Bank (EC) Limited and the Bank of Nova Scotia) Banking Business Vesting Order – Section 175(3) and (5) (Statutory Instrument 143/2019)
1. Citation
2. Interpretation
3. Vesting of banking business
Banking (Royal Bank of Canada) Banking Business Vesting Order – Section 175 (Statutory Instrument 66/2021)
1. Citation and commencement
2. Interpretation
3. Vesting of banking business
Schedule
Banking (Licences) Regulations (Statutory Instrument 215/2021)
1. Citation
2. Interpretation
3. Application for licence
4. Refusal of application
5. Obsolete application
6. Alterations of facts disclosed in application
7. Standard conditions
8. Authority on receipt of notice
Schedule