Banking Act (Cap. 371)
Banking Act (Cap. 371), article 20
20. (1) Every credit institution licensed in terms of this Act, and
where applicable, a financial ho lding company or a mixed financ ial
holding company, shall submit to the competent authority any
information which it may reasonab ly require in the exercise of its
duties under this Act or any regulations made or Banking Rules or
Conduct of Business Rules issued thereunder, the CRR or any binding
legal instruments issued under the CRD, and the competent authority
may enquire into and ask for clar ification of any information s o
submitted.
(2) Any request for information or for clarification thereof
under this article shall be made by notice in writing and shall
require the recipient to provide the information at such time o r
times or at such intervals or in respect of such period or peri ods as
may be specified by the notice.
(3) Further, the compet ent authority may -
(a) by notice in writing served on a credit institution, a
financial holding company or a mixed financial holding
company, require the credit institution, financial holding
company or mixed financial holding company, as the case
may be, to provide a report by an accountant or other
person with relevant professional skill on, or on any
aspect of, any matter about which the competent
authority has required or could require the credit
institution, financial holding company or mixed financial
holding company, as the case may be, to provide
information under sub-article (1);
(b) by notice in writing served on a credit institution, a
financial holding company or a mixed financial holding
company, require the credit institution, financial holding
company or mixed financial holding company, as the case
may be, to produce within such time and at such pl ace as
may be specified in that notice, such document or
documents of such description as may be so specified
in the notice;
(c) authorise an officer, servan t or agent of the competent
authority, on producing evidence of his authority, to
require any credit institution, financial holding company
or mixed financial holding company, to provide him
forthwith with such information, or to produce to him
forthwith such documents, as he may specify, being
such information or docum ents as the competent
authority may reasonably require for the performance
of its functions under this Act or any regulations made
or Banking Rules or Conduct of Business Rules issued
thereunder.
(4) The accountant or other person appointed by a credit
institution, a financial holding company or a mixed financial h olding
company to make any report required under sub-article (3)( a) shall
be a person nominated or approved by the competent authority; a nd
the competent authority may require the report to be in such fo rm
as is specified in the notice.
BANKING [CAP. 371. 53
(5) Where, by virtue of sub-article (3), any person has power to
require the production of any documents from a credit instituti on, a
financial holding company or a mixed financial holding company, that
person shall have the same power to require the production of t hose
documents from any person who appears to be in possession of
them.
(6) The power under this article to require a credit institution , a
financial holding company or a mixed financial holding company, or
any other person to produce any documents includes the power -
(a) if the documents are produced, to take copies of them
or extracts from them and to require the credit
institution, financial holding company, mixed financial
holding company, or person concerned, or any other
person who is a present or past officer of, or is or was
at any time employed by or acting as an employee of,
the credit institution, financial holding company and
mixed financial holding company in question, to provide
an explanation of any of them; and
(b) if the documents are not produced, to require the
person who was required to produce them to state, to
the best of his knowledge and belief, where they are.
(7) If it appears to the competent authority to be desirable in
the interests of the depositors or potential depositors of a cr edit
institution to do so, or if othe rwise required to fulfil its su pervisory
responsibilities, it may also exe rcise the powers conferred by sub-
articles (1) and (3) in relation to any person who is or has at any
relevant time been -
(a) a holding company, subsidiary or a company which is
a connected pers on of that credit institution;
(b) a subsidiary or a person which is a company connected
to a holding company of that credit institution;
(c) a holding company of a subsidiary of that credit
institution; or
(d) a controller of that credit institution; or
(e) an outsourcing service provider of that credit
institution.
(8) The competent authority may by notice in writing served on
any person who is or is to be an officer of a credit institutio n,
financial holding company or mixed financial holding company, a s the
case may be, require him to furnish, within such time as may be
specified in the notice, such information or documents as the
competent authority may reasonably require for determining
whether he is a suitable person to hold the particular position which
he holds or is to hold.
(9) The competent authority may exercise the powers conferred
by sub-articles (1) and (3) in relation to any person who has a
qualifying shareholding in a credit institution, financial holding
company or mixed financial holdi ng company, if it considers tha t the
exercise of those powers is desirable in the interests of the
54 CAP. 371.] BANKING
depositors or potential depositors of that credit institution.
(10) A statement made by a person in compliance with a
requirement imposed by virtue o f this article may be used in
evidence against him.
(11) The competent authority sha ll have the power to recover
from a credit institution, financial holding company or mixed f inancial
holding company reported on under sub-article (3) the costs and
expenses incurred in relation to such report.
Right of entry to
obtain information
and documents.
Amended by:
X. 2015.33.
Text read from the consolidated PDF published by Legislation Malta. Tables, figures and marginal notes may be incomplete or out of place: the official PDF is authoritative. General information, not legal, tax or accounting advice.