Prohibitions

(1) Subject to this Act– (a) a bank shall not engage in any type of banking business or financial business not specified in its licence. (b) a licensee shall not use or cause its premises or any part thereof to be used for any business other than for which it is licensed under this Act save that a licensee may permit a financial holding company, a regulated subsidiary or a subsidiary approved by the Central Bank to occupy a separate part of the premises so, however, that the entrance to and exit from that subsidiary or financial holding company are separate from that of the licensee and the location and signage of the subsidiary and financial holding company are such that there is a clear distinction between the office and operations of the licensee and those of the subsidiary or financial holding company. (2) For the purposes of sub-section (4), sections 57, 58 (1) and (2), and 69 (3) and without limiting the generality of those sections and sub-sections, a licensee is deemed indirectly to have undertaken a course of action, entered into a transaction or incurred a credit exposure where the action is undertaken, the transaction entered into or the credit exposure incurred, by a subsidiary of the licensee. (3) A licensee shall not directly or indirectly– (a) engage in any trade except so far as may be necessary in the ordinary course of business and services, including the satisfaction of debt due to such licensee and the due performance of its functions as a trustee, executor, administrator or attorney; (b) acquire or hold land or any interest in land other than as a mortgagee or chargee except so far as may be necessary– (i) for the purpose of housing its offices, officers or employees; or (ii) for the satisfaction of debts due to it and the due performance of its functions as an executor, administrator or attorney; (c) acquire its own shares or the shares of a holding company, financial holding company or subsidiary of the licensee; or (d) deal, underwrite or grant credit exposures on the security of its own shares or the shares of a company or subsidiary of the licensee; or (e) own a subsidiary which is an unregulated entity except that the Central Bank may approve the ownership of a company by a licensee or its financial holding company if the business of that company is the provision of necessary support services to the licensee or to the financial entities held by the financial (4) A licensee that contravenes sub-sections (3)(b) or (c) commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand dollars. (5) The Central Bank may prescribe or specify regulations and practice directions to ensure that any transaction referred to in this sub-section will not materially affect the risk of exposure of the licensee or constitute inappropriate market conduct.