|
|
[Home]
[Databases]
[WorldLII]
[Search]
[Feedback]
[Report an error]
[F.A.Q.]
Vanuatu Sessional Legislation |
Commencement: 17 April 1990
REPUBLIC
OF VANUATU
THE
NATIONAL COMMERCIAL AND TRADING BANK OF VANUATU
ACT
No. 45 OF 1989
Assent:
27/12/89
Commencement:
17/04/90
An Act to provide for the
establishment and management of the National Commercial and Trading Bank of
Vanuatu.
BE IT
ENACTED by the President and Parliament
as follows:-
PART 1 - INTERPRETATION
INTERPRETATION
1.
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires -
"Bank" means the National Commercial and Trading Bank of Vanuatu established under section 2;
"Board" means the Board of Directors of the Bank established in accordance with section 4;
"Chairman" means the Chairman of the Board appointed in accordance with section 5;
"Deputy Chairman" means the Deputy Chairman of the Board appointed in accordance with section 59;
"Financial Institution" shall have the same meaning assigned thereto by the Banking, Regulation, as amended;
"General Manager" means the General Manager of the Bank appointed in accordance with section 21;
"Licensed Financial Institution" means a financial institution which is licensed under the Banking Regulation, as amended, to conduct banking business;
"Minister" means the Minister for the time being responsible for finance or any Minister acting on his behalf.
PART 2 - ESTABLISHMENT AND FUNCTIONS OF THE BANK
ESTABLISHMENT
OF THE BANK
2. (1) There is hereby
established a bank to be known as the National Commercial and Trading Bank of
Vanuatu.
(2) The Bank shall be a
body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal and shall, under its
name, be capable of suing
and being sued, and of acquiring, holding and
disposing of property, moveable and immoveable of every description, and
entering into
contracts and of doing and performing all such acts and things as
bodies corporate may by law do and perform, subject to the provisions
of this
Act.
FUNCTIONS
OF THE BANK
3. (1) The functions
of the Bank shall be -
(a) to accept moneys on deposit payable at call, at notice or fixed time deposits and to pay interest thereon;
(b) to invest such moneys with any bank or financial institution in Vanuatu, subject to the provisions of this Act and to a suitable provision being made for the current requirements of the Bank;
(c) to operate standing order arrangements and other periodical payments on behalf of the depositors;
(d) to buy, sell, discount, and rediscount bills of exchange, promissory notes, Treasury bills and Treasury notes;
(e) to buy and sell Government securities and other securities;
(f) to buy, sell and otherwise deal in foreign exchange and gold and other precious metals;
(g) to establish credits and engage in hire-purchase, lease, financing and factoring;
(h) generally to carry on and transact any business of financiers as principal or agent;
(i) to issue bills and drafts and effect transfers of money;
(j) to guarantee the due fulfilment of contract obligations by any person or corporation;
(k) to act as attorney for any person;
(l) to form subsidiaries in any manner permitted by law;
(m) to subscribe to, buy or otherwise acquire, hold and sell shares, stock and other securities;
(n) to enter into-
(i) any arrangement for the sharing of profits, union of interest, cooperation, joint venture, reciprocal concession or otherwise with any individual, firm corporation or company; or
(ii) any business or transaction capable of being conducted so as to directly or indirectly benefit the Bank;
(o) to promote, effect, insure, guarantee, underwrite, participate in, manage and carry out any issue of shares, stock, debentures or debenture stock, of any company, corporation or association and to lend or borrow money for the purpose of any such issue;
(p) to keep for any company, corporation or association any register relating to any shares, stock, bonds or other securities or to undertake any duties in relation to the registration of transfers or the issue of certificates or otherwise;
(q) to act as trustee and administer any trust fund and generally to undertake any other trust the undertaking of which is desirable;
(r) subject to the provisions of the Vanuatu National Provident Fund Act No. 1 of 1986, to administer any superannuation, provident or retirement fund or scheme for the benefit of its officers and servants;
(s) to furnish managerial, financial, technical, and administrative advice and assist in obtaining managerial, financial, technical and administrative services for industrial, agricultural and commercial enterprises;
(t) to undertake research, studies, investigations and experiments in regard to the economic, financial and technical feasibility of industrial, agricultural, commercial and other projects or enterprises;
(u) to acquire such assets as may be required for the operations of the Bank, including the acquisition of banking businesses or interests;
(v) at the written request of the Minister, to collect and transmit moneys on behalf of the Government on payment of such commission or other charges as the Minister may approve;
(w) at the request of the Development Bank of Vanuatu to provide debt collecting services on behalf of that Bank or otherwise act as an agent thereof on such terms and conditions and on payment of such commission or other charges as may be mutually agreed;
(x) to operate such other banking services and transact such other banking business of any class or description, as the Board with the written consent of the Minister may, from time to time, determine;
(y) to do all such other things as are incidental or conducive to the better and efficient exercise of the above mentioned functions or any of them.
(2)
The Bank may for the purpose of the exercise of its functions
(a) establish branches and agencies at such places in Vanuatu as the Board shall determine;
(b) arrange with any person to act as agent of the Bank at any place within or outside Vanuatu.
(3)
In carrying out its powers, duties and functions under the provisions of this
Act, the Bank shall act in accordance with any general
policy directions in the
national interest given in writing to it from time to time by the Minister after
consultation with the Board.
PART
3 - BOARD OF DIRECTORS, POWERS OF THE
BOARD,
MEETINGS AND
PROCEDURES
THE
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
4. (1) There
shall be a Board of Directors of the Bank which, subject to the provision of
this Act, shall have power to do all such
things as are in their opinion
necessary for or conducive to the proper discharge of the functions of the Bank
as described in section
3.
(2) It
shall be the duty of the Board to ensure that the policy of the Bank is directed
towards the national interest and has due
regard to the stability and balance
development of the economy of
Vanuatu.
(3) The Board shall
consist of the following members appointed by the Minister:-
(a) a representative of the Ministry of Finance nominated by the Minister of Finance; and
(b) four other members from among persons appearing to the Minister to be qualified to be members of the Board.
(4)
The members of the Board referred to in subsection (3) shall be appointed by the
Minister from among persons of recognised standing
and experience in banking,
business, finance, professional or academic
matters.
(5) Subject to subsection
(6), the term of office of any member of the Board shall be for such period as
may be determined by the
Minister; provided that such period shall not be more
than three years.
(6) A member of
the Board shall hold office for the period of his appointment unless he is
removed from, or otherwise vacates, office
earlier.
(7) A member of the Board
other than a member who is removed from office under section 7, or who is deemed
to leave vacated his office
under section 12, shall be eligible for
re-appointment.
CHAIRMAN
AND DEPUTY CHAIRMAN OF THE
BOARD
5. (1) The Chairman of the
Board shall be appointed by the Minister on such terms and conditions as may be
determined by the Minister,
from among the members of the
Board.
(2) The members of the
Board shall, from amongst their number, elect the Deputy Chairman of the
Board.
DISQUALIFICATION
FROM MEMBERSHIP OF THE BOARD
6. A
person shall be disqualified from being appointed or for continuing as a member
of the Board:
(a) if he is or becomes a member of Parliament;
(b) if he is or becomes a member of the Board of Directors, or an officer, or servant of the Reserve Bank of Vanuatu;
(c) if he is or becomes an officer or servant of the Bank;
(d) if he is 70 years old;
(e) if he is or becomes an undischarged insolvent or bankrupt;
(f) if he is convicted of an offence involving moral turpitude;
(g) if he has any financial or other interest as is likely to affect prejudicially the discharge by him of his duties as a member of the Board;
(h) in the case of a person having professional qualifications, if he is disqualified or suspended from practising his profession by the order or decision of any competent authority made in respect of him personally by reason of his conduct.
POWER
OF THE MINISTER TO REMOVE FROM OFFICE A MEMBER OF THE
BOARD
7. The Minister may by
notice in writing remove a member of the board from office for the following
reasons -
(a) where he becomes subject to any disqualification specified in section 6; or
(b) where he becomes permanently incapable of performing his duties; or
(c) where he has done any act or thing which, amounts to gross misconduct or negligence in the discharge of his duties; or
(d) where he has been convicted and sentenced to a term of imprisonment including a suspended sentence for an offence under the laws of Vanuatu.
RESIGNATION
OF MEMBERS OF THE BOARD
8. (1) A
member of the Board may, resign his office by giving one month notice in writing
of his intention to resign, to the
Minister.
(2) A member of the
Board (upon resignation from or termination of his term of office) shall not
participate on behalf of any person
in any matter which was pending before the
Board on the date of his resignation from or termination of his office, as the
case may
be, for a period of one year from such date of resignation or
termination of term of office, and shall not participate on behalf
of any person
in any matter in which he, while he was a member of the Board, personally and
substantially
participated.
APPOINTMENT
OF PERSONS IN THE EVENT OF DEATH, RESIGNATION, VACATIONS OR REMOVAL FROM OFFICE
OF THE MEMBER OF THE BOARD
9. (1)
If a member of, the, Board dies, resigns, is deemed to have vacated his office
under section 12 or is removed from office,
the Minister shall, having due
regard to the provisions of subsections (3) and (4) of section 4, appoint
another person to be a member
in his
place.
(2) A member appointed
under subsection (1) shall, unless he is removed from or otherwise vacates
office earlier, hold office for
the unexpired part of the term office of the
member whom he
succeeds.
TEMPORARY
APPOINTMENT OF MEMBER OF THE
BOARD
10. Where a member of the
Board is by reason of illness, infirmity or absence from Vanuatu temporarily
unable to perform the duties
of his office, the Minister on being so notified
may, having due regard to the provisions of subsections (3) and (4) of section 4
appoint another person to act in his place until such time as the member
concerned resumes
duties.
VALIDITY
OF ACTS OR PROCEEDINGS OF THE
BOARD
11. No act or proceeding of
the Board shall be deemed to be invalid by reason of the existence of any
vacancy amongst its members
or any defect in the appointment of any
member.
VACATION
OF OFFICE OF MEMBER OF THE
BOARD
BY REASON OF
ABSENCE FROM MEETING
12. A member
of the Board shall be deemed to have vacated his office if he is absent from
three consecutive meetings of the Board
without excuse deemed sufficient in the
opinion of the
Board.
REMUNERATION
AND ALLOWANCES OF MEMBERS OF THE
BOARD
13. (1) Subject to
subsection (2), the members of the Board other than the member appointed under
subsection 3(a) of section 4, may
be paid such remuneration or allowances in
such manner and at such rates out of the funds of the Bank as may be determined
from time
to time by the Board in consultation with the
Minister.
(2) Notwithstanding the
provisions of subsection (1), in the case where a meeting of the Board or a
Committee thereof is held at any
place other than Port Vila, the Bank, shall be
responsible for the reasonable costs and expenses incurred by the member
appointed
under subsection 3(a) of section 4, or a temporary member acting for
such member, or a nominee of the member, as the case may be,
who attends such
meeting.
DELEGATION
OF FUNCTIONS BY THE BOARD
14. (1)
Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Board may delegate to any officer of
the Bank, member of the Board or a committee
comprising of members of the Board
the authority, except the power to delegate, to carry out on its behalf such
functions, and upon
such terms or conditions, if any, as the Board may
determine.
(2) Notwithstanding any
delegation of authority under subsection (1), the Board may, at any time in its
own right, exercise any function
which is the subject of such
delegation.
MEETINGS
OF THE BOARD
15. (1) The Board
shall meet at such times as they may consider necessary for the transaction of
business; provided that there shall
be at least two meetings in every 12
months.
(2) Meetings of the Board
shall be at such times and places as the Board, or the Chairman, or in his
absence the Deputy Chairman,
may from time to time
determine.
(3) The Chairman, or in
his absence the Deputy Chairman, shall preside over the meetings of the
Board.
QUORUM
AT MEETINGS OF THE BOARD
16. (1)
Subject to subsection (3), the quorum for any meeting of the Board shall be
three members, two of whom shall be the Chairman,
or in his absence the Deputy
Chairman and the member of the Board appointed under subsection 3(a) of section
4.
(2) In the absence of a member
appointed under subsection 3(a) of section 4, from any meeting of the Board, an
officer nominated by
that member from the Ministry of Finance shall act as that
member's alternate at that
meeting.
(3) In the case where the
member appointed under subsection 3(a) of section 4 is also the Chairman, the
quorum for any meeting of
the Board shall be three members, one of whom shall be
the Chairman or in his absence the Deputy
Chairman.
DECISIONS
OF THE BOARD
17. The decisions of
the Board shall be by majority vote and in the event of an equality of votes the
Chairman, or in his absence,
the Deputy Chairman, shall have a second or casting
vote.
PROCEDURES
OF THE BOARD
18. Subject to the
provisions of this Act, the Board may regulate its own procedures and, in
particular may regulate the holding of
meetings, the notice to be given of any
meeting, the proceedings at any meeting, the keeping of minutes, the custody,
production
and inspection of minutes, and the opening, keeping, closing and
audit of
accounts.
DISCLOSURE
OF INTEREST BY MEMBERS OF THE
BOARD
19. Every member of the
Board shall fully disclose to the Board any financial or other personal interest
that he may have directly
or indirectly in any matter before the Board and shall
not take part in the discussion of any such matter nor vote thereon, and,
if
requested to do so by the Chairman or in his absence the Deputy Chairman, shall
absent himself while deliberations with respect
to any such matter are taking
place.
SEAL OF
THE BANK
20. The seal of the Bank
-
(a) shall be in the custody of such persons as the Board may from time to time determine;
(b) may be altered in such manner as may be determined by the Board; and
(c) shall not be affixed to any instrument or document except with the prior written approval of the Board and in the presence of at least one member of the Board, or a duly authorised officer of the Bank, who shall sign the instrument or document in token of his presence.
PART
4 - GENERAL MANAGER,
OFFICERS
AND
SERVANTS OF THE BANK
GENERAL
MANAGER OF THE BANK
21. (1) The
General Manager shall be a person of recognised experience in banking, business,
financial or professional matters, and
shall be appointed by the Minister after
consultation with the Board for a period of not more than five years and shall
be eligible
for
re-appointment.
(2) The General
Manager appointed under subsection (1) shall be paid by the Bank such
remuneration, and be entitled to such other
terms and conditions of employment
as shall be specified, in his letter of
appointment.
(3) The General
Manager shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the Bank and shall be
responsible to the Board for the execution of
its policy and the management of
the Bank.
(4) Except as may
otherwise be provided in this Act, the rules of the Board or in the resolutions
of the Board, the General Manager
shall have power to act, enter into contracts
and sign any instruments and documents, on behalf of the
Bank.
(5) The General Manager may
with the approval of the Board, delegate any of his powers under this Act to any
other officer or servant
of the
Bank.
(6) The General Manager
shall devote the whole of his professional services to the Bank and shall not
while holding office, hold any
other office or employment, whether for
remuneration or not, except as a nominee of the Bank, or with the written
consent of the
Minister.
(7) The
General Manager shall have right to attend and address the meetings of the Board
but shall not have the right to vote; any
observations made by him at a meeting
of the Board shall be recorded in the minutes of the
meeting.
OFFICERS
AND SERVANTS OF THE BANK
22. (1)
The Board may appoint and employ, at such remuneration and on such terms and
conditions as it thinks fit, such officers and
servants as it thinks necessary
for the proper management of the Bank and may dismiss any such office or
servant.
(2) All officers and
servants of the Bank shall make and subscribe to a declaration of secrecy in
such form and manner as the Board
shall determine.
PART
5 - AUTHORISED CAPITAL, PROFITS,
RESERVES
AND
RESTRICTIONS ON CERTAIN ACTIVITIES
AUTHORISED
SHARE CAPITAL OF THE BANK
23. The
authorised share capital of the Bank shall be 200 million Vatu and shall be
divided into 20,000 shares of 10,000 Vatu
each
INCREASE
AND REDUCTION OF THE SHARE
CAPITAL
24. On the recommendation
of the Board and subject to the written approval of the Minister given in
accordance with the recommendation
of the Council of Ministers, the authorised
share capital of the Bank may be increased or reduced by a resolution of the
Board by
such amount and in such manner as shall be specified in the
resolution.
ALLOTMENT
AND TRANSFER OF SHARES
25. (1) Not
less than 51 per cent of the amount of the issued share capital of the Bank
shall be held by the Government at all
times.
(2) Subject to the written
approval of the Minister given in accordance with the recommendation of the
Council of Ministers, the Board
may allot shares in any part of the authorised
share capital of the Bank to any person, body or institution at such price and
on
such terms and conditions as the Board thinks
fit:
Provided that the total
number of shares so allotted must not be such as to reduce the shareholding of
the Government to less than
provided for in subsection
(1).
(3) No transfer or assignment
of any share or any right or any interest whatsoever in any share shall have
effect unless such transfer
or assignment has been approved in writing, by the
Board and the Minister:
Provided
that such approval may not be given so as to reduce the shareholding of the
Government to less than provided for in subsection
(1).
LIMITED
LIABILITY OF SHAREHOLDERS
26. The
liability of the Shareholders shall be limited to the amount, if any, of unpaid
shares held by
them.
PROFITS
AND DIVIDEND
27. (1) The net
profit of the Bank for any financial year shall be determined by the Board after
meeting all current expenditure for
that year and after provisions being made
for any bad and doubtful debts, depreciation in investments and other assets and
such other
purposes as the Board may consider
necessary.
(2) The balance of the
net profit of the Bank or such part thereof as the Board with the written
approval of the Minister may determine,
remaining after provision being made as
required by sections 28 and 29, shall be allocated to a distribution of
dividend.
RESERVE
FUND
28. (1) The Bank shall have a
reserve fund to which there shall be transferred out of its net profits each
year and before any dividend
is declared a sum equal to not less than
twenty-five per centum of its net
profits.
(2) With the written
approval of the Minister the Board may direct that a part not exceeding one-half
of the reserve fund be converted
into issued paid up
capital:
Provided that the amounts
so converted shall not at any time exceed the difference between the issued paid
up capital and the authorised
share capital of the
Bank.
MINIMUM
HOLDING OF LIQUID ASSETS
29. (1)
The Bank shall at all times maintain such minimum holding of liquid assets,
being not less than twenty-five per centum of
the Bank's deposit liabilities, as
the Board may determine.
(2) In
this section "Liquid assets" means cash, moneys deposited on call with any bank
or financial institution in Vanuatu, money
deposited with the Reserve Bank of
Vanuatu and such other assets, if any, as the Minister may, with the concurrence
of the Reserve
Bank of Vanuatu and consultation of the Board,
direct.
RESTRICTIONS
ON CERTAIN ACTIVITIES BY THE
BANK
30. (1) Notwithstanding
anything to the contrary in this Act, the Bank shall not without the written
approval of the Reserve Bank
of Vanuatu, given with the concurrence of the
Minister, grant to -
(a) any individual, firm, corporation or company;
(b) any holding company and any one or more of its subsidiaries; or
(c) any group comprising any combination of individuals, firms, corporations or companies which is under the control of the same individual, firm, corporation or company,
any
advance or credit facility or give any financial guarantee or incur any other
liability on behalf of such individual, firm, corporation,
company or group, so
that the total value of such advance, credit facility, financial guarantee or
other liability is at any time
more than twenty-five per centum of the paid up
capital and published reserves of the
Bank.
For the purposes of this
subsection an advance by the Bank to a company shall include the value of all
shares, stocks and debentures
issued by that company and held by the
Bank.
(2) The provisions of
subsection (1) shall not apply to the following:-
(a) transactions between the Bank or a branch thereof and a licensed financial institution or a branch of a licensed financial institution;
(b) purchase of telegraphic transfer or any advance made against such transfer;
(c) purchase of bills of exchange or documents of title to goods where the holder of such bills or documents is entitled to payment outside Vanuatu, for exports from Vanuatu, or to any advance made against such bills or documents;
(d) any advance or credit facility made to the Government, or guaranteed by the Government;
(e) transactions with respect to bankers acceptance, bills of exchange or any other commercial paper, of the kinds and maturities authorised by the Reserve Bank of Vanuatu;
(f) any advance or credit facility granted against security, covered by insurance to such extent and in such manner as the Reserve Bank of Vanuatu may approve and such security having a value of at least twenty-five per centum more than the amount of the obligation secured thereby.
(3)
The Bank shall not grant any advance or credit facility against -
(a) the security of its own shares;
(b) the security of the shares of any other licensed financial institution without the written approval of the Reserve Bank of Vanuatu.
(4)
The Bank shall not grant or permit to be outstanding unsecured advances or
unsecured credit facilities of an aggregate amount
in excess of VT 300,000 or of
one percent of the sum of the paid up capital and published reserves of the
Bank, whichever is the
greater or give any financial guarantees in excess of
such amount without security, or incur any other liability in excess of such
amount without security -
(a) to or on behalf of any one of the members of the Board, whether such advances, facilities, guarantees or other liabilities are obtained by or on account of such member jointly or severally;
(b) to or on behalf of any firm, corporation, or company in which it or any one or more members of the Board is interested as director, partner, manager or agent, or to or on behalf of any individual, firm, corporation or company of which any one or more members of the Board is a guarantor.
For
the purposes of this subsection a member of the Board includes the wife,
husband, father, mother, a son or a daughter of such
member.
(5) The Bank shall not
grant or permit to be outstanding to its officers and servants unsecured
advances or unsecured credit facilities
including guarantees or other
liabilities incurred on their behalf which in aggregate exceed one year's
emoluments of such officer
or
servant.
For the purpose of this
subsection -
"unsecured advances or unsecured credit facilities" means advances or credit facilities granted without security, or, in respect of any advance or credit facility granted with security, any part thereof which at any time exceeds four fifths of the market value of the assets constituting such security.
(6)
Any person who contravenes the provisions of this section commits an offence and
shall be liable or conviction to a fine not exceeding
ten million Vatu or to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both such fine and
imprisonment.
(7) For the purposes
of this section-
"holding company" means a holding company as defined by section 158 of the Companies Act No. 12 of 1986;
"individual" means a natural person and shall not include a body of persons, corporate or unincorporate.
INTEREST
ON DEPOSITS
31. (1) Subject to the
provisions of this Act and such conditions (if any) as the Board may from time
to time determine, the General
Manager shall determine the rates of interest
payable to the depositors with the Bank and different rates may be determined
according
to the amount standing to the credit of a depositor, or to different
classes of depositors.
(2) The
General Manager may determine that interest shall not be payable in respect of
so much of the amount standing to the credit
of a depositor as either exceeds or
is less than an amount fixed for this
purpose.
INTEREST
ON LOANS, ADVANCES, CREDITS, ETC, MADE BY THE
BANK
32. (1) Subject to the
provisions of this Act and such conditions (if any) as the Board may from time
to time determine, the General
Manager shall determine the rates of interest to
be charged or applied in respect of any loan, advance credit or credit facility
of whatever description made by the Bank to any individual, firm, institution,
body, group or association (whether incorporated or
not) or
company.
(2) Without in any way
derogating from the generality of the provisions of subsection (1), the General
Manager may determine that
different rates of interest or, as the case may be,
no interest, will be charged or applied in respect of different classes of
loans,
advances, credits or credit facilities made by the Bank in accordance
with the provisions of this
Act.
UNCLAIMED
DEPOSITS
33. (1) Where in respect
of a depositor's account (not being an account in the name of an infant) there
has not, for a period of not
less than 7 years, been any transaction upon the
account by deposit or withdrawal and the pass book has not been presented to the
Bank, all moneys standing to the credit of the account may be credited to a fund
to be called the Depositors' Unclaimed Fund and
shall thereupon cease to bear
interest.
(2) The Bank may, on
being satisfied that a person is entitled to money credited to the Depositors'
Unclaimed Fund, pay the money
to that
person.
(3) All moneys in respect
of which a claim is not established within 10 years after having been credited
to the Depositors' Unclaimed
Fund shall cease to be claimable and shall become
the absolute property of the Bank, but the Bank may allow any claim after the
expiration
of that period if it is satisfied that special reasons exist for the
payment of the claim.
(4) A list
of the accounts the Depositors' Unclaimed Fund shall be published periodically
but not less than once every year at such
times and places and in such manner as
the Board shall determine.
PART 6 - ACCOUNTS, AUDIT AND REPORTS
FINANCIAL
YEAR
34. The financial year of the
Bank shall be the same as the financial year of the
Government.
AUDIT
35.
(1) The accounts of the Bank shall be audited annually by duly qualified
auditors appointed by the Board with the written approval
of the
Minister.
(2) Without prejudice to
the provisions of subsection (1) the Minister may at any time request the
Auditor General or the Reserve
Bank of Vanuatu to examine and report on the
accounts of the Bank or any aspect of the Bank's operations and the Bank shall
provide
the Auditor-General or the Reserve Bank of Vanuatu, as the case may be,
with all necessary and proper facilities for such an
examination.
PUBLICATION
OF ACCOUNTS AND ANNUAL REPORT
36.
(1) The Bank shall, within four months after the end of each financial year,
cause to be made and transmit to the Minister -
(a) a report of the operations of the Bank during that year; and
(b) a copy of the annual statement of accounts of the Bank certified by the auditors appointed under section 35(1).
(2)
The Minister shall as soon as practicable after their receipt-
(a) cause a copy of the report and annual statement of accounts to be laid before Parliament; and
(b) cause a copy of the annual accounts to be published in the Gazette.
(3)
The Bank shall as soon as practicable after the last working day in March, June
and September of each year make up a statement
showing its assets and
liabilities at the close of business on that day and transmit such statement to
the Minister.
PART 7 - MISCELLANEOUS
OFFENCES
RELATING TO SECRECY
37. (1) Except
for the purposes of the performance of his duties or the exercise of his
functions or when lawfully required to do
so by any Court in Vanuatu or under
the provision of any law in Vanuatu, no member of the Board, including an
alternate member where
applicable, nor any officer or servant of the Bank shall
disclose to any person any information relating to the affairs of the Bank
or
relating to the account of any customer of the
Bank.
(2) Any person who
contravenes the provisions of subsection (1) commits an offence and shall on
conviction be liable to a fine not
exceeding one million vatu or to imprisonment
for a term not exceeding four years or to both such fine and
imprisonment.
EXEMPTION
FROM BANKING LAWS
38. (1) The Bank
shall not be subject to any of the provisions of law for the time being in force
in relation to banks or for financial
institutions and
banking.
(2) Notwithstanding the
provisions of subsection (1) and subject to the other provisions of this Act,
every requirement, decision
or order made by the Reserve Bank of Vanuatu in
pursuance of its functions under the Reserve Bank of Vanuatu Act No. 3 of 1980
as
amended, shall, if such requirement, decision or order is applicable to all
licensed financial institutions carrying on banking business,
apply to the
Bank.
COMMENCEMENT
39.
This Act shall come into force on such day as the Minister may appoint by Order
published in the Gazette.
----------------------------------------------------
PacLII:
Copyright Policy
|
Disclaimers
|
Privacy Policy
|
Feedback|
Report an error
URL: http://www.paclii.org/vu/legis/num_act/ncatbova1989399