CENTRAL BANK OF MALAYSIA ACT 2009

LAWS OF MALAYSIA ONLINE VERSION OF UPDATED TEXT OF REPRINT Act 701 CENTRAL BANK OF MALAYSIA ACT 2009 As at 1 November 2020 2 CENTRAL BANK OF MALAYSIA ACT 2009 Date of Royal Assent ... ... ... ... 19 August 2009 Date of publication in the Gazette ... ... 3 September 2009 Latest amendment made by Act A1616 which came into operation on ... … 1 October 2020 … … 3 LAWS OF MALAYSIA Act 701 CENTRAL BANK OF MALAYSIA ACT 2009 ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS PART I PRELIMINARY Section 1. Short title and commencement 2. Interpretation PART II THE BANK, ITS OBJECTS AND FUNCTIONS 3. The Bank established under Central Bank of Malaysia Act 1958 4. Central bank for Malaysia 5. Principal objects and functions of the Bank PART III FINANCIAL PROVISIONS 6. Capital 7. General Reserve Fund 8. Financial year 9. Requirement to keep accounts and other records 10. Accounting standards 11. External audit 12. Statement of assets and liabilities 4 Laws of Malaysia ACT 701 Section 13. Preparation and publication of financial statements and report PART IV GOVERNANCE OF THE BANK 14. Board of Directors 15. Governor and Deputy Governor 16. Appointment of director 17. Disqualification of Governor, Deputy Governor and director 18. Vacancies in office of Governor, Deputy Governor or director 19. Meetings of Board 20. Disclosure of interest 21. Board committees PART V MONETARY FUNCTIONS AND OPERATIONS OF THE BANK 22. Monetary policy 23. Monetary Policy Committee 24. Publication of monetary policy statement 25. Monetary policy operations 26. Conduct of monetary policy operations PART VI FINANCIAL STABILITY FUNCTIONS AND POWERS OF THE BANK Chapter 1 Powers for promoting financial stability 27. Dual financial system 28. Financial stability powers under the laws Central Bank of Malaysia 5 Section 29. Interpretation 30. Information for purposes of financial stability 31. Measures for financial stability 32. Power for averting or reducing risk to financial stability 33. Due diligence 34. Liquidity assistance under paragraph 32(1)(a) or (b) 35. Additional provisions relating to subparagraph 32(1)(c)(i) 36. Additional provisions relating to subparagraph 32(1)(c)(iii) 37. Financial Stability Executive Committee 38. Powers and functions of the Financial Stability Executive Committee 39. Nature of relief 40. Arrangements with other supervisory authorities 41. Advice or recommendations on financial stability to supervisory authorities 42. Confidentiality Chapter 2 Money market and foreign exchange market 43. Rules, guidelines, etc., for money market, etc. 44. The Bank may establish system for funds, debt securities, etc. Chapter 3 Financial services and other functions 45. Co-operation with financial institutions 46. Clearing houses and settlement of balances between financial institutions 47. Credit bureau 48. Establishment of body corporate, etc. 49. Financing for special purposes 50. Limit on investment and financing 6 Laws of Malaysia ACT 701 PART VII ISLAMIC FINANCIAL BUSINESS Chapter 1 Shariah Advisory Council Section 51. Establishment of Shariah Advisory Council 52. Functions of Shariah Advisory Council 53. Appointment of members to Shariah Advisory Council 54. Secretariat to Shariah Advisory Council 55. The Bank and Islamic financial institutions to consult Shariah Advisory Council 56. Reference to Shariah Advisory Council for ruling from court or arbitrator 57. Effect of Shariah rulings 58. Shariah Advisory Council ruling prevails Chapter 2 Powers of the Bank 59. The Bank to issue circulars, guidelines, etc., on Shariah matters 60. Promotion of Malaysia as an international Islamic financial centre PART VIII CURRENCY 61. Unit of currency 62. (Deleted) 63. (Deleted) 64. (Deleted) 65. The Bank may buy and sell ringgit 66. Exchange rate regime for ringgit Central Bank of Malaysia Section 66A. PART IX FOREIGN RESERVES 67. Duty of the Bank to hold and manage foreign reserves 68. Policies and guidelines on foreign reserves PART X RELATIONS WITH GOVERNMENT 69. Banker and financial agent to Government 70. Advice to, and acting generally as agent for, Government 71. Temporary financing to Government 72. Issues of policy PART XI OTHER POWERS OF THE BANK 73. Compliance with the Shariah 74. Acquisition of immovable property 75. General powers of the Bank 76. Business which the Bank may not transact 77. Measures to safeguard monetary and financial stability 78. Record of international accounts PART XII INTERNATIONAL MATTERS 79. International co-operation 80. Membership in international organizations 7 8 Laws of Malaysia ACT 701 Section 81. Participation in Bank for International Settlements and other international financial institutions 82. Regulations or directions to discharge Government’s international obligations under United Nations Security Council Resolutions PART XIII OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES 83. Officers and employees of the Bank 84. Financing for housing, vehicle, studies and scholarships 85. Remuneration not to be related to profits PART XIV GENERAL 86. Preservation of secrecy 87. Immunity 88. Power to report suspected offence 89. Power to compound 90. Prosecution 91. Offence by body corporate 92. The Bank may be represented by officer or employee of the Bank in civil proceedings 93. Fees and charges 94. Power to make regulations 95. Power to issue guidelines, etc. 96. Exemptions 97. Power to amend Schedule 98. Power to impose administrative penalty Central Bank of Malaysia PART XV REPEAL, SAVINGS AND TRANSITIONAL Section 99. Repeal 100. Savings and transitional FIRST SCHEDULE SECOND SCHEDULE THIRD SCHEDULE 9 11 LAWS OF MALAYSIA Act 701 CENTRAL BANK OF MALAYSIA ACT 2009 An Act to provide for the continued existence of the Central Bank of Malaysia and for the administration, objects, functions and powers of the Bank, for consequential or incidental matters. [25 November 2009 P.U. (B) 533/2009, paragraph 23(8)(b) and sections 61 to 66 1 October 2020 P.U. (B) 480/2020] ENACTED by the Parliament of Malaysia as follows: PART I PRELIMINARY Short title and commencement 1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Central Bank of Malaysia Act 2009. (2) This Act comes into operation on a date to be appointed by the Minister by notification in the Gazette and the Minister may appoint different dates for the coming into operation of different parts or different provisions of this Act. Interpretation 2. (1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires— 12 Laws of Malaysia ACT 701 “Bank” means Bank Negara Malaysia or in English, the “Central Bank of Malaysia”; “Board” means the Board of Directors of the Bank; “Board Audit Committee” means the Board Audit Committee established under paragraph 21(1)(b); “Board Governance Committee” means the Board Governance Committee established under paragraph 21(1)(a); “Board Risk Committee” means the Board Risk Committee established under paragraph 21(1)(c); “capital instruments” means preference shares, loan stocks, subordinated term debts or other instruments approved by the Bank to be eligible as capital; “constituent document”, in relation to a body corporate or unincorporate, means any document or instrument, under or by which the body is constituted, established, incorporated, or its governing and administrative structure, the scope of its functions, business, powers or duties are set out, whether contained in one or more but not limited to the following documents or instruments: (a) statute; (b) charter; (c) memorandum of association; (d) articles of association; (e) constitution; (f) rules or by-laws; and (g) partnership agreement; Central Bank of Malaysia 13 “Deputy Governor” means a Deputy Governor of the Bank; “derivative” means any agreement, including an option, a swap, futures or forward contract, whose market price, value, delivery or payment obligations is derived from, referenced to or based on, but not limited to, securities, commodities, assets, rates (including interest rates, profit rates or exchange rates) or indices; “director” means a director of the Bank appointed under subsection 16(1), and includes the Governor and the Deputy Governors; “financial collateral” means any of the following that is subject to an interest or a right that secures payment or performance of an obligation in respect of a qualified financial agreement or that is subject to a title transfer credit support agreement: (a) cash or cash equivalents, including negotiable instruments and demand deposits; (b) security, a securities account or a right to acquire securities; or (c) futures agreement or futures account; “financial institution” means a person carrying on a financial business regulated under the laws enforced by the Bank and in addition includes any— (a) person who operates any payment system or issues any payment instrument; and (b) person carrying on any other financial business as the Minister may prescribe; “financial markets” includes the money market, the foreign exchange market, the capital market and the derivatives market; “Financial Stability Executive Committee” means the Financial Stability Executive Committee established under section 37; 14 Laws of Malaysia ACT 701 “financing” means the giving of any advance, loan, credit or other facility in whatever form or by whatever name called, including the giving of a guarantee or undertaking of any surety obligations for another person and where such financing is extended in accordance with the Shariah shall include, and may be in the form of, without limitation, any sale or purchase arrangement, joint venture arrangement, deferred payment sale, return sharing arrangement or any other financing arrangement made in accordance with the Shariah; “foreign currency” means currency notes or coins which are legal tender in any country, territory or place outside Malaysia and any reference to foreign currency in this Act includes a reference to any right to receive foreign currency in respect of any credit or balance at a bank or any other similar institution in or outside Malaysia; “Governor” means the Governor of the Bank; “international financial institution” means any institution which is established in or outside Malaysia by more than one country, central bank or monetary authority in relation to financial or monetary matters and includes the Asian Development Bank, the Bank for International Settlements, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Monetary Fund, the Islamic Development Bank and the Islamic Financial Services Board; “Islamic financial business” means any financial business in ringgit or other currency which is subject to the laws enforced by the Bank and consistent with the Shariah; “Islamic financial institution” means a financial institution carrying on Islamic financial business; “Minister” means the Minister charged with the responsibility for finance; “Monetary Policy Committee” means the Monetary Policy Committee established under section 23; “officer” means any officer of the Bank appointed under section 83; Central Bank of Malaysia 15 “payment systems” means any system or arrangement for the transfer, clearing or settlement of funds or securities; “prescribed” means prescribed under the Act from time to time by order published in the Gazette; “qualified financial agreement” means— (a) a master agreement in respect of one or more qualified financial transactions under which if certain events specified by the parties to the agreement occur— (i) the transactions referred to in the agreement terminate or may be terminated; (ii) the termination values of the transactions under paragraph (a) are calculated or may be calculated; and (iii) the termination values of the transactions under paragraph (a) are netted or may be net