New Central Bank Act comes into force

The Central Bank of Malaysia Act 2009 came into force yesterday, enabling Bank Negara to more effectively manage emerging risks and challenges.

With this, the Central Bank of Malaysia Act 1958 is repealed and thus ceased to apply, the central bank said in a statement yesterday.

The new Act provided greater clarity on the central bank’s mandate and vested it with the necessary powers and instruments to achieve this mandate, it said.

Specific powers for macro-prudential financial stability which to date had not been a common feature of traditional central banking legislation are now included in the Act.

These provisions, among others, supported increased surveillance, regulatory reach, oversight of money and foreign exchange markets and coordination with other regulators, including across borders, on crisis prevention, management and resolution, the statement added.

Consistent with the goal to promote Malaysia as an international centre for Islamic finance, the Act gave due recognition to the Islamic financial system in the country, Bank Negara said, adding that it provided for an enhanced role of the Syariah Advisory Council on Islamic Finance to facilitate consistent application of Islamic law on Islamic financial matters.