Hong Kong will adopt the Basel III banking reforms in phases from 1 January next year.
The Banking (Amendment) Ordinance 2012 was gazetted on 9 March to put in place a legal framework for the implementation in Hong Kong of the banking regulatory reform package released in Basel III.
The ordinance empowers the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to make rules to prescribe the capital, liquidity and disclosure requirements applicable to authorised institutions. It also seeks to enlarge the review remit of the present Capital Adequacy Review Tribunal (CART) to also cover matters related to liquidity and disclosure for Basel III implementation, and rename CART as the Banking Review Tribunal.
Basel III's implementation will strengthen the local banking system's resilience and competitiveness, the Financial Services & the Treasury Bureau said.
The Monetary Authority said the implementation of Basel III will keep Hong Kong in line with the latest international regulatory standards.