EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1985 NO 338
ISSUED BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE TREASURER
BANKS (SHAREHOLDINGS) ACT 1972
BANKS (SHAREHOLDINGS) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
Section 10 of the Banks (Shareholdings) Act 1972 (the Act) generally limits the nominal amount of the voting shares of a bank incorporated in Australia in which a person (including a corporation) may have an interest to 10 per cent, or 15 per cent with the approval of the Treasurer, of the total nominal amount of the voting shares of the bank. Under sub-section 10(4) of the Act the Governor-General may, after application made to the Treasurer by a person, fix a higher percentage for that person by instrument published in the Gazette. Sub-section 10(3) provides that where a percentage is applicable in relation to a person, that person may not have a greater nominal amount of shares than the percentage so fixed.
The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia on the recommendation of the Treasurer has granted a banking authority in a form suitable for a savings bank to Citibank Savings Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Citibank Limited.
As required by the Act an instrument has been gazetted, which separately but not cumulatively fixed a percentage of 100 per cent under sub-section 10(4) for each of the following corporations in relation to their interests in Citibank Savings Limited:
• Citibank Limited
• Citibank NA
• Citibank Overseas Investment Corporation
• Citicorp
• Nessus Investment Corporation
Under section 9 of the Act the associates (ie all officers, partners, subsidiaries etc) of the above corporations are also be deemed to have the same interest in Citibank Savings Limited as the above-mentioned companies. The companies have made an application to the Treasurer for a ‘class’ instrument fixing a percentage of 100 per cent in respect of their officers, pursuant to sub-section 10(5A) of the Act. Hence, an instrument has been gazetted which declares that for the purposes of the Act the percentage of 100 per cent is also applicable to the persons who are from time to time relevant officers of each of the above corporations in respect to Citibank Savings Limited.
Under the Act, however, it is not possible to make such a ‘class’ instrument for the interests of the associates of those corporations other than for the relevant officers. These ‘other associates’, as defined in section 9, would represent an extremely large and ever changing list of persons/corporations and rather than make an instrument, pursuant to sub-section 10(4), for every person within the meaning of section 9 it is convenient to prescribe these interests as provided for by section 17 and paragraph 8(9) (d).
Paragraph 8(9)(d) of the Act provides that a prescribed interest in a share that is an interest of such person, or of the persons included in such class of persons, as is prescribed shall be disregarded. The Banks (Shareholdings) Regulations (the Regulations) currently prescribe a class of persons in relation to their interests in banks listed in the Schedule to the Regulations deemed to be held by sub-section 9(2) of the Act and thus their interests are disregarded for the purposes of the Act. The effect of the amendments to the Regulations is to do the same in the case of Citibank Savings Limited.
Detail of the regulation is as follows:
The Schedule to the Banks (Shareholdings) Regulations is amended by adding the following corporations to the Schedule in relation to Citibank Savings Limited.
• Citibank Limited
• Citibank NA
• Citibank Overseas Investment Corporation
• Citicorp
• Nessus Investment Corporation