Dear Sir/Madam,

The annual self-assessment of compliance with the Code of Banking Practice covering the period 1 June 2005 to 31 May 2006 will be due for submission by 31 August 2006. Enclosed please find a reporting template for this purpose.

The reporting requirements are the same as those of last year. All authorized institutions (AIs) are required to commission their internal audit department, compliance department or other equivalent unit to conduct the self-assessment. The chief executive of the AI should co-sign the self-assessment report. Where an instance of non-compliance is identified, the AI concerned should provide details of the case including its plan to rectify the situation. A full account should be given if the instance of non-compliance is a recurrence of similar instances identified in previous exercises.

The self-assessment should take into account any revisions, new provisions, recommendations and interpretative notes issued by the Code of Banking Practice Committee¹ during the reporting period. In particular, please note that two new provisions, namely sections 20.1A and 20A.1 in relation to co-borrowers' liabilities, are included in the scope of the current self-assessment exercise as they became effective on 4 July 2005 and 3 January 2006 respectively.

The soft copy of the self-assessment template in Excel format and the submission instructions will be sent to you via the STET system. If you have any questions concerning data input and return submission, please contact our helpdesk on 2878 1800. For enquiries regarding the self-assessment, please contact Miss May Cheung on 2878 1501 or Miss Sarah Kwok on 2878 1513.


Yours faithfully,




Raymond Li
Executive Director
(Banking Development)