The Monetary Authority has issued a non-statutory guideline on disclosure requirements for all authorised institutions in respect of their profit and loss, state of affairs and capital adequacy ratio.

The guideline provides supplementary guidance concerning the application of the Banking (Disclosure) Rules, particularly on how certain requirements should be interpreted. It also includes a complete set of definitions of terms used in the rules, including relevant terms from the Banking (Capital) Rules.

The issuance of the guideline has completed the introduction of the new disclosure regime for authorised Institutions that was established by the Banking (Disclosure) Rules.

The authority's Executive Director (Banking Policy) Simon Topping said the new public disclosure regime will enhance the transparency of authorised institutions and help ensure that relevant and timely information is available to the public, investors and market professionals.

"This enhanced transparency is particularly important in view of recent important changes in accounting standards and regulatory requirements, introduced to keep the business and regulatory environment in Hong Kong on a par with other top international financial centres."