Cap. 371 Art. 20Supervision of credit institutions.

(1) Every credit institution licensed in terms of this Act, and where applicable, a financial holding company or a mixed financial holding company, shall submit to the competent authority any information which it may reasonably 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 clarification of any information so 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 or times or at such intervals or in respect of such period or periods as may be specified by the notice.

(3) Further, the competent 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 place 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, servant 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 documents 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 holding company to make any report required under sub-article (3)(a) shall be a person nominated or approved by the competent authority; and the competent authority may require the report to be in such form as is specified in the notice.

(5) Where, by virtue of sub-article (3), any person has power to require the production of any documents from a credit institution, a financial holding company or a mixed financial holding company, that person shall have the same power to require the production of those 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 credit institution to do so, or if otherwise required to fulfil its supervisory responsibilities, it may also exercise 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 person 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 institution, financial holding company or mixed financial holding company, as 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 holding company, if it considers that the exercise of those powers is desirable in the interests of the depositors or potential depositors of that credit institution.

(10) A statement made by a person in compliance with a requirement imposed by virtue of this article may be used in evidence against him.

(11) The competent authority shall have the power to recover from a credit institution, financial holding company or mixed financial holding company reported on under sub-article (3) the costs and expenses incurred in relation to such report.