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Banking Bill

Bill No. 29/1970

Read the first time on 22nd July 1970.

An Act to provide for the licensing and regulation of the business of banking and to repeal the Banking Ordinance, 1958, of Malaysia (M. Ord. 62 of 1958) and the Banking (Amendment and Extension) Act, 1965, of Malaysia (M. Act 17 of 1965).

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

PART I

PRELIMINARY

Short title and commencement

1. This Act may be cited as the Banking Act, 1970, and shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —

“bank” means any company which carries on banking business and holds a valid licence granted under section 7 or 72 of this Act. All branches and offices in Singapore of such a company shall be deemed to be one bank for the purposes of this Act;

“banking business” means the business of receiving money on current or deposit account, paying and collecting cheques drawn by or paid in by customers, the making of advances to customers, and includes such other business as the Commissioner, with the approval of the Minister, may prescribe for the purposes of this Act;

“Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Banking appointed under section 3 of this Act;

“company” means any company defined in any written law for the time being in force relating to companies, any company formed in pursuance of any Royal Charter or Letters Patent, and any company incorporated or registered under any written law in force in Singapore and includes any company incorporated outside Singapore which has complied with the provisions of any written law for the time being in force relating to companies;

“director” includes any person occupying the position of director of a corporation by whatever name called and includes a person in accordance with whose directions or instructions the directors of a corporation are accustomed to act and an alternate or substitute director;

“licence” means a licence granted under section 7 or 72 of this Act;

“place of business” in relation to a bank includes a mobile branch of the bank and a branch established and maintained for a limited period only;

“savings account liabilities” in relation to a bank means the total deposits at that bank which normally require the presentation of passbooks for the deposit or withdrawal of monies;

“sight liabilities” in relation to a bank means the total deposits at that bank which are repayable on demand, but does not include savings account liabilities or the deposits of any other bank at that bank;

“time liabilities” in relation to a bank means the total deposits at that bank which are repayable otherwise than on demand, but does not include savings account liabilities or the deposits of any other bank at that bank.

(2) Without prejudice to any other meaning which the word “insolvent” may have, a bank shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be insolvent if either it has ceased to pay its debts in the ordinary course of business or is unable to pay its debts as they become due.

(3) For the purposes of sections 10, 25, 27 and 28 of this Act “capital funds” means —

(a)	in the case of a bank whose head office is situated in Singapore — the paid-up capital and published reserves of that bank; and
(b)	in the case of a bank whose head office is situated outside Singapore — the net head office funds and such other liabilities as the Commissioner may decide.