Hong Kong's legal and regulatory regime for combating money laundering and terrorist financing is reviewed regularly to ensure it is in line with the latest international standards and practices.
Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury Prof KC Chan made the statement to lawmakers today, saying reference is drawn from other jurisdictions when reviewing the regime.
"However, due to different market conditions of individual jurisdictions, such as the varying composition or risk profiles of their banking sectors, it is inappropriate to make a direct comparison.
"Nevertheless, the Monetary Authority understands from banks operating in different financial markets that the account opening processes and requirements in Hong Kong, especially for corporates, are comparable to those adopted by other international financial centres."
Prof Chan said banks have followed the authority’s guidance and taken a number of measures to facilitate account opening by shortening the processing time, providing updates on application progress and establishing review mechanisms for unsuccessful applications.
"Based on the feedback the Monetary Authority received recently, customer experience in the account opening process has improved."
On complaints about unsuccessful business account opening, the authority noted the major reasons include applicants’ failure to provide the requisite customer due diligence information or documentary proof which makes it difficult for banks to understand their business nature and operation.
Another reason is the identification of financial crime risks during the customer due diligence process such as money laundering or financial sanctions concerns.
The authority plans to launch a mystery shopping programme this year to assess the effectiveness of the measures adopted by banks to improve customer service.
Prof Chan said the Government will continue working with the banking industry and business community to handle the issue.
"Our aim is to maintain a robust anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regime in Hong Kong which does not hinder access by legitimate businesses and members of the general public to basic banking services."
