Banking Act · 2024 Revised Edition · Part · Prohibited Business
35. Credit facilities and limits
Official textFrom Attorney General's Chambers, unchanged
Subject to subsection (2) —
the aggregate amount outstanding by way of credit facilities granted by a bank shall not at any time exceed 20 per cent of its capital funds or such greater percentage not exceeding 50 per cent of its capital funds as the Authority may approve; and
Banking
the aggregate amount outstanding by way of substantial credit facilities granted by a bank shall not at any time exceed 25 per cent, or such greater percentage as the Authority may specify, of the total amount.
Subsection (1) does not apply to credit facilities resulting from —
credit facilities
“credit facilities” means — (a) the granting of advances, loans and other facilities whereby a customer of the bank has access to funds or financial guarantees; or (b) the incurring by a bank of other liabilities on behalf of the customer;
transactions with the Government;
transactions between banks;
the purchase of telegraphic transfers or loans or advances made against telegraphic transfers;
any facilities granted against letters of credit or bills or guarantees or documents in respect of imports into or exports from
Brunei Darussalam; or
any other type of transaction which the Authority may approve.
Without prejudice to subsection (1), a bank shall not —
bank
“bank” means a company which carries on banking business and holds a licence granted under section 4 or 23, and includes all branches and offices in Brunei Darussalam of any such company for the purposes of this Act;
grant any credit facilities against the security of its own shares;
grant, whether directly or indirectly, unsecured credit facilities in such that the aggregate amount outstanding at any time exceeds the sum of $10,000 or such other sum as the Authority may direct in any of the following cases —
to any of its directors or their associates, whether those credit facilities are obtained by its directors or the associates jointly or severally;
to an institution in which it or any of its directors or their associates has an interest as a partner, manager or agent, or to any person of whom or of which any of its directors or their associates is a guarantor;
to any company, other than a bank, which is an associate of the bank.
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All the directors of a bank are liable, jointly and severally, to indemnify the bank against any loss arising from the making of any unsecured credit facility or any credit facility which he knew or ought to have known became unsecured under subsection (3), whether the bank has contravened those provisions or not.
A bank which contravenes any of the provisions of this section is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $150,000.
In this section —
“substantial credit facility” means any credit facility granted by a bank to a person which, either alone or together with any credit facilities granted to any associate, in the aggregate exceeds 15 per cent of the bank’s capital funds;
“unsecured credit facilities” means credit facilities given without security, or in respect of any credit facility given with security, any part thereof which at any time exceeds the market value of the assets constituting that security, or where the Authority is satisfied that there is no established market value, on the basis of a valuation approved by it.
Terms defined in s 2
Authority
Defined · s 2“Authority” means the Brunei Darussalam Central Bank established by the Brunei Darussalam Central Bank Order, 2010;
bank
Defined · s 2“bank” means a company which carries on banking business and holds a licence granted under section 4 or 23, and includes all branches and offices in Brunei Darussalam of any such company for the purposes of this Act;
capital funds
Defined · s 2“capital funds”, in relation to a bank, means — (a) if the bank is a company whose head office is situated in Brunei Darussalam the paid-up capital and published reserves of the company (excluding such reserves as the Authority may specify by notice in writing) deduction having been made for any loss appearing in the accounts of the bank; (b) if the bank is a company whose head office is situated outside Brunei Darussalam, the net head office funds and such other liabilities as the Authority may decide: Provided that, except for the purposes of section 11, in determining the capital funds of a bank at any time there shall be deducted any debit balance appearing in the bank’s profit and loss account.
company
Defined · s 2“company” means a body corporate incorporated or registered in Brunei Darussalam under the Companies Act;
credit facilities
Defined · s 2“credit facilities” means — (a) the granting of advances, loans and other facilities whereby a customer of the bank has access to funds or financial guarantees; or (b) the incurring by a bank of other liabilities on behalf of the customer;
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Minimum Assets Requirements
Part 7
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Overseas Branches and Representative Offices of Domestic Banks
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Unclaimed Balances
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Invitations to Make Deposits
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