Banking Act (Cap. 371), article 8

8. (1) A company licensed or holding an equivalent authorisation in another country outside Malta which carries on the business of banking shall not establish a representative office in Malta unless it has given not less than two months’ notice to t he competent authority that it proposes to establish such an offic e. Such notice shall - (a) specify the name it is proposed to use in relation to the activities of the representa tive office and the address of such office; (b) be accompanied by a certified copy of the BANKING [CAP. 371. 23 authorisation of the company to conduct the business of banking in a country other than Malta. (2) A company mentioned in sub-article (1) having a representative office in Malta shall likewise notify the compet ent authority - (a) at least two months in advance of any proposed change in name of the repre sentative office; (b) of any change in its authoris ation to conduct the business of banking in a country other than Malta, no more than two months after such change. (3) The competent authority may, at any time, serve on a representative office in Malta a notice objecting to the name o r the proposed name of such office. (4) The competent authority shall not give a notice pursuant to sub-article (3) unless it consid ers that the name or proposed n ame is misleading to the public or otherwise undesirable, and upon receipt of such notice, the rep resentative office shall not use the name to which the competent authority has objected in relation to activities conducted in Malta. (5) The competent authority may, by notice in writing, require any company having a representative office in Malta or which ha s given notice pursuant to sub-ar ticle (1) to provide the compete nt authority with such information or documents as the competent authority may reasonably require, and the said company shall comply with such notice in the p eriod as is reasonably specifie d by the notice. (6) A representative office in Malta shall supply the competent authority with a copy of any document which it is required to provide to the Registrar of Companies no later than the time by which such document must be pr ovided to the said Registrar. (7) The competent authority may by a Banking Rule provide that the provisions of articles 20 to 24 shall apply to represe ntative offices in Malta in the same manner as they apply to credit institutions subject to such variations and conditions as may b e established in the Banking Rule. (8) The competent authority may by Banking Rule impose on companies which have established or which propose to establish representative offices in Malta such requirements as the compet ent authority considers appropriate in connection with those office s and the activities conducted from them. (9) The competent authority may, within the two months referred to in sub-article (1), order a company referred to in the said sub-article (1) not to establish a representative office in Mal ta and at any time thereafter order the closure of any representative office so established. Companies may be required to pay fees. Added by: XI.2025.29.