MAURITIUS Law and Practice Contributed by: Valerie Bisasur, Jean-Vincent Dacruz and Shane Mungur, BLC Robert & Associates
and risk management rules – in consonance with the ethos and value system of Islam. “Digital banking business” is defined under the Banking Act as “banking business carried on exclusively through digital means or electroni - cally”. “Private banking business” means the business of offering banking and financial services and products to high net worth customers, includ - ing, but not limited to, an all-inclusive money- management relationship. A bank licensed to carry on exclusively private banking business or exclusively Islamic banking business may apply to the BoM to conduct its licensed activities solely through digital means or through electronic delivery channels. Accordingly, an applicant may be granted with either: • a banking licence; An applicant for a banking licence must be a body corporate and, in this context, it may take different form. The applicant may be a stan - dalone entity, a branch or a subsidiary of a for - eign bank. Depending on the form it wishes to take, the BoM may specify additional require - ments to, or exemptions from, the legal, regu - latory and supervisory framework applicable to that applicant. Every application for a banking licence, irrespec - tive of the category, is made by submitting a duly filled-out and prescribed application form to the • an Islamic banking licence; • a digital banking licence; or • a private banking licence. Application Process
BoM together with a non-refundable processing fee, or MUR250,000. The application will be reviewed and approved by the BoM. It is therefore recommended that the applicant engages with the BoM to ensure that it is provided with all the information it requires. The BoM also has wide discretionary powers to request any information it deems necessary to determine whether the applicant is eligible to a banking licence, and this would normally include extensive information about the appli - cant’s expertise and ability to meet the applica - ble licensing criteria. Among others, an applicant must provide a business plan giving the nature of the planned business, organisational structure and internal control, as well as projected finan - cial statements (including projected cash flow statements). In terms of administration, the applicant must demonstrate that it has at least ten suitably qualified full-time officers, including the CEO, the deputy CEO and key functional heads. The applicant must also have a principal place of business in Mauritius and its annual operating costs should not be less than MUR25 million. A successful applicant will have to demonstrate that it has the required policies, procedures and control in place to meet its licensing criteria, including the prescribed minimum capital and liquidity ratio and other regulatory, statutory and prudential requirements as may be prescribed by the BoM. Pending the final determination of the applica - tion, the BoM may grant an in-principle approval, subject to such terms and conditions as it may determine. However, an in-principle approval must not be construed by the applicant as an
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