Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

BANKING ACT 1959 - SECT 13A

Appointment of investigator or administrator, or investigation or control by APRA

             (1)  APRA may investigate the affairs of an ADI, appoint a person to investigate the affairs of an ADI, take control of the ADI's business or appoint an administrator to take control of the ADI's business if:

                     (a)  the ADI informs APRA that the ADI considers that it is likely to become unable to meet its obligations or that it is about to suspend payment; or

                     (b)  APRA considers that the ADI is likely to become unable to meet its obligations or is about to suspend payment; or

                     (c)  the ADI becomes unable to meet its obligations or suspends payment.

Note:          For information about another circumstance in which APRA may take control of the business of an ADI, see section 65.

             (2)  Throughout this Subdivision and Subdivision B, the term ADI statutory manager is used. It refers to the entity in control of an ADI's business under this Subdivision. That entity will be either APRA or an administrator of an ADI's business appointed by APRA.

Australian assets of ADI to be available to meet deposit liabilities

             (3)  If an ADI becomes unable to meet its obligations or suspends payment, the assets of the ADI in Australia are to be available to meet that ADI's deposit liabilities in Australia in priority to all other liabilities of the ADI.

             (4)  An ADI is guilty of an offence if:

                     (a)  it does not hold assets (excluding goodwill) in Australia of a value that is equal to or greater than the total amount of its deposit liabilities in Australia; and

                     (b)  APRA has not authorised the ADI to hold assets of a lesser value.

Maximum penalty:    200 penalty units.

Note 1:       Chapter 2 of the Criminal Code sets out the general principles of criminal responsibility.

Note 2:       If a body corporate is convicted of an offence against this subsection, subsection 4B(3) of the Crimes Act 1914 allows a court to impose a fine of up to 5 times the penalty stated above.

             (5)  An offence against subsection (4) is an indictable offence.

             (6)  If the circumstances relating to the asset holdings of an ADI are such that give rise to the ADI committing an offence against subsection (4), the ADI is guilty of an offence against that subsection in respect of:

                     (a)  the first day on which the offence is committed; and

                     (b)  each subsequent day (if any) on which the circumstances that gave rise to the ADI committing the offence continue (including the day of conviction for any such offence or any later day).

Note:          This subsection is not intended to imply that section 4K of the Crimes Act 1914 does not apply to offences against this Act or the regulations.