The
Financial Services (Minimum Amount of Capital Funds or Surplus of Assets over Liabilities) (Licensed Person) (Amendment) Order 2022 [P.U.(A) 58/2022] (‘P.U.(A) 58/2022’) and
the Islamic Financial Services (Minimum Amount of Capital Funds or Surplus of Assets over Liabilities) (Licensed Person) (Amendment) Order 2022 [P.U.(A) 59/2022] (‘P.U.(A) 58/2022’) were gazetted on 17 March 2022 and come into operation on 21 March 2022.
P.U.(A) 58/2022 amends the Financial Services (Minimum Amount of Capital Funds or Surplus of Assets over Liabilities) (Licensed Person) Order 2013 [P.U.(A) 199/2013] to stipulate that the minimum capital funds for a licensed digital bank shall be RM100,000,000.00 during the foundational phase and RM300,000,000.00 after the foundational phase.
P.U.(A) 59/2022 amends the Islamic Financial Services (Minimum Amount of Capital Funds or Surplus of Assets over Liabilities) (Licensed Person) Order 2013 [P.U.(A) 209/2013] to stipulate that the minimum capital funds for a licensed Islamic digital bank shall be RM100,000,000.00 during the foundational phase and RM300,000,000.00 after the foundational phase.
The ‘foundational phase’ in both P.U.(A) 58/2022 and P.U.(A) 59/2022 refers to the period of a minimum of three years up to a maximum of five years from the date the licensed digital bank or licensed Islamic digital bank, as the case may be, commences its banking business, as may be determined by Bank Negara Malaysia (‘BNM’).
The amendments to P.U.(A) 58/2022 and P.U.(A) 59/2022 accord with the requirements set out in the
Licensing Framework for Digital Banks issued by BNM on 31 December 2020.
According to the Governor of Bank Negara, Tan Sri Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus, BNM will announce the parties to whom up to five digital bank licences will be issued when BNM releases its annual reports for 2021, which is expected in March 2022. BNM had received 29 applications for the digital banking licence.
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Alert by Lee Ai Hsian (Partner) and Tai Kean Lynn (Associate) of the Banking and Finance Practice of Skrine.