Banking (Amendment) Bill

Bill No. 20/1998

Read the first time on 1st June 1998.

An Act to amend the Banking Act (Chapter 19 of the 1994 Revised Edition).

Be it enacted by the President with the advice and consent of the Parliament of Singapore, as follows:

Short title and commencement

1. This Act may be cited as the Banking (Amendment) Act 1998 and shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint.

Amendment of section 45A

2. Section 45A of the Banking Act is amended —

(a)

by deleting paragraph (b) of subsection (1) and substituting the following paragraph:

“(b)

where the supervisory authority is prohibited by its domestic law from divulging information obtained in the course of the inspection to any other person or where the supervisory authority has given such written undertaking, as to the confidentiality of the information obtained, as the Authority may determine; and”; and

(b)

by inserting, immediately after subsection (1), the following subsection :

“(1A) A supervisory authority may, with the prior written approval of the Authority, appoint another body to conduct the inspection referred to in subsection (1); and in such event the provisions of this section and section 46(1A) shall apply to the appointed body as they apply to a supervisory authority.”.

Amendment of section 47

3. Section 47 of the Banking Act is amended —

(a)

by deleting paragraph (i) of subsection (4) and substituting the following paragraph :

“(i)

the information relates solely to credit facilities granted by a branch of a bank incorporated outside Singapore and is required by the supervisory authority which is responsible for regulating the head office of the bank for the sole purpose of supervision of the bank by the supervisory authority and where the supervisory authority will not divulge the information received to third parties unless compelled to do so by its domestic law or courts;”;

(b)

by inserting, immediately after the word “particulars” in the ninth line of subsection (8), the words “, other than credit facilities granted,”; and

(c)

by deleting subsection (9) and substituting the following subsection :

“(9) The Authority may provide information to a supervisory authority under subsection (8) if and only if the supervisory authority is prohibited by its domestic law from divulging the information received to third parties or gives such written undertaking, as to the confidentiality of the information provided, as the Authority may determine.”.

New section 59A

4. The Banking Act is amended by inserting, immediately after section 59, the following section:

“Real-time gross settlement system

59A.—(1) The Authority may establish and operate one or more real-time gross settlement systems for the transfer of funds, the settlement of payment obligations and the transfer and settlement of book-entry securities and instruments between or among participants approved by the Authority.

(2) A settlement system may be linked to another system in Singapore or elsewhere for the clearing or settlement of payment obligations or securities and whether or not such system is operated on a real-time gross settlement basis.

(3) The Authority may enter into agreements with the participants of a settlement system and issue to the participants in writing rules for the operation of the settlement system and such rules shall not be deemed to be subsidiary legislation.

(4) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (3), such rules may provide —

(a)	for the appointment of the Authority as a certification authority for the purpose of issuing certificates for participants;
(b)	for the conduct of participants;
(c)	for the authentication of transactions carried out electronically;
(d)	for the Authority, if it considers it necessary in the interests of the system, to stop or suspend the operation of the system or to stop or suspend the privileges or rights of any participant or class of participants;
(e)	for the appointment of auditors or inspectors for the auditing or inspection of the operating systems of participants in respect of the settlement system; and
(f)	for the payment of fees to the Authority.

(5) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any written law or rule of law, where the rules provide that the transfer of funds, the settlement of any payment obligation or the transfer and settlement of book-entry securities and instruments through an entry to or a payment out of an account of a participant kept with the Authority is final and irrevocable, the entry or payment made through the settlement system shall not be required to be reversed, repaid or set aside and no order shall be made by any court for the rectification or stay of such entry or payment.

(6) Notwithstanding the provisions of any written law relating to the winding up of companies, including but not limited to sections 61 and 62, if proceedings for the winding up of a participant of a settlement system have commenced —

(a)	the Authority may do anything permitted or required by the rules of the settlement system in order to net obligations incurred before or on the day on which the proceedings commenced;
(b)	the obligations that are netted under the rules of the settlement system shall be disregarded in the proceedings; and
(c)	the netting made by the Authority and any payment made by the participant under the rules of the settlement system shall not be voidable in the proceedings.

(7) Notwithstanding the provisions of any written law relating to the winding up of companies, where —

(a)	proceedings are commenced for the winding up of a participant;
(b)	an entry or payment referred to in subsection (5) is made through the settlement system at any time on the day on which the proceedings commenced; and
(c)	the entry or payment involves the payment of money or the transfer of any book-entry securities and instruments, by the participant,

the payment or transfer has the same effect it would have had if the proceedings had commenced on the next day.

(8) The Authority, any officer or employee of the Authority, or any person acting under the direction of the Authority, shall not be liable for any loss or damage suffered by any person or participant arising from, directly or indirectly, the use of a settlement system by any participant unless such loss or damages results from a reckless act or omission or any intentional misconduct of any officer or employee of the Authority or any person acting under the direction of the Authority.

(9) In this section —

“book-entry securities and instruments” means book-entry securities issued under the Development Loan (1987) Act (Cap. 81A) and the Government Securities Act (Cap. 121A), book-entry Treasury Bills issued under the Local Treasury Bills Act (Cap. 167) and such other book-entry securities or instruments as the Authority may approve for clearing, transfer or settlement under a settlement system;

“certificate” has the same meaning as in the Electronic Transactions Act 1998;

“certification authority” has the same meaning as in the Electronic Transactions Act 1998;

“participant” means a bank or the Post Office Savings Bank of Singapore established under the Post Office Savings Bank of Singapore Act (Cap. 237) which has been approved by the Authority to be a participant of a settlement system and shall include the Authority where it participates in the settlement system;

“real-time gross settlement system” means a system which can effect final settlement of funds, payment obligations and book-entry securities and instruments on a continuous basis during such operating hours of a processing day as the Authority may determine and on a transaction-by-transaction basis;

“rules” means any rules issued by the Authority under subsection (3);

“settlement system” means any real-time gross settlement system established under subsection (1).”.

Amendment of section 62

5. Section 62(1) of the Banking Act is amended by deleting the words “sections 39 and 40” in the fifth and sixth lines of paragraph (a) and substituting the words “section 39, 40 or 77A, as the case may be”.

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