- Joined
- Jun 30, 2024
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- #1
Author: Lysander Lyon, MP
Sponsor: N/A
Type: Act of Parliament
1. Short Title
(a) This bill shall be referred to as the "Banking Foundations Act".
(b) This bill was authored by Lysander Lyon.
(c) This bill repeals the Rebuild Banking Act.
(d) The Financial Institution Establishment Act, Section 8 of the Taxation Act, and Section 3 of the Financial Revisions Act shall remain repealed.
2. Commercial Banks
(a) Commercial banks shall be required to submit to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, once per month, the following information:
(i) A list of names of employees who have direct access to alter or withdraw from account balances, or the bank’s balance.
(ii) The lawyer or law firm hired by the bank.
(iii) The amount of deposits, cash on hand, cash loaned out, and the end of month balance change.
(b) If a commercial bank has deposits over $100,000, they are required to have a lawyer on staff or retainer.
(i) If a commercial bank cannot meet this requirement, they may file for an exception with the Ministry of Economic Affairs, on a monthly basis. This does not have to be granted.
(ii) If a commercial bank required to have a lawyer on staff or retainer, does not, the Ministry of Economic Affairs may order the bank to pause operations, or levy a fine, until they acquire one.
(c) Commercial banks may not own shares in a limited company.
(d) Commercial banks functioning within a limited company setting should maintain separate accounts for other aspects of the company from the bank’s own accounts.
(e) Commercial banks may offer banking accounts, certificates of deposit, loans, and credit cards.
(f) If a commercial bank wishes to offer an additional financial service, such as an ETF, or invest in a financial tool (bonds, ETFs), they must apply for a specific waiver from the Bank of Azalea to offer or invest in that service.
(i) Financial services should generally be restricted to investment banks.
3. Investment Banks
(a) Investment banks must make a reasonable effort to keep the public aware they are not a commercial bank.
(b) Investment banks may offer loans and investment accounts/funds. They also may create ETFs and bonds.
(c) Investment banks may not offer normal deposit accounts.
(d) Investment banks may create additional financial tools and services, but must apply for approval from the Bank of Azalea.
(i) The Bank of Azalea may issue blanket approvals, which will allow all investment banks to offer the financial tool/service, or specific approvals, which only authorize the requesting investment bank to offer the tool/service.
(ii) Narrow approvals may be done to allow the initial development of a service, or to keep higher-risk or capital-intensive tools limited to investment banks who are able to properly handle them, or for other reasons as determined by the Bank of Azalea.
4. Payment Service Providers
(a) Payment service providers (PSPs) shall exist to enable the processing of electronic payments, through non-Minecraft platforms.
(b) PSPs may not publish, sell, or otherwise share information that directly tracks, traces or identifies an individual or that individual’s transactions.
(c) PSPs may be ordered to share client information by a court order.
(d) PSPs may be owned by a registered limited company or directly by a financial institution.
(e) PSPs may not go public or hold assets unrelated to the PSP’s operations.
5. Credit Unions
(a) Credit unions are considered not-for-profit financial institutions.
(b) Credit unions are financial institutions that provide the same products as a commercial bank.
(i) Credit unions face the exact same restrictions as commercial banks, as outlined in sections 2(a) through 2(e).
(c) Credit unions may not offer additional financial services. They may request the ability to invest in another financial tool, which would be granted or denied by the Bank of Azalea, but these requests should be subject to more significant scrutiny due to the not-for-profit nature of the institution.
(d) Credit unions may retain no more than 10% of profits earned in a month.
(e) Credit unions shall be structured so that each $1 deposited is treated as one share owned, with each share being allowed to cast a vote. Credit unions with less than $200,000 in deposits shall elect a President, while credit unions with $200,000 or more in deposits shall elect a Board of Directors. This process, and credit unions more broadly, shall be subject to the Business Reform Act, and credit unions shall be treated as limited companies.
6. Activity and Reporting
(a) All financial institutions should have either an in-game location or a digital location (Discord server, website, etc.) for offering their financial products.
(b) If a financial institution should receive a plot due to a defaulting customer, the institution may continue to hold that plot in exception to any plot cap for a maximum of two months. After the two month period, the institution will be in violation of the plot cap if they still have more plots than allowed.
(c) The Ministry of Economic Affairs may require more information than is outlined in Section 2(a) in the monthly or quarterly reports for a category of financial institution, or for all financial institutions.
(d) Investment banks and payment service providers are required to file their reports to the Ministry of Economic Affairs once per standard yearly quarter.
7. Taxation
(a) Financial institutions are exempt from normal business tax rates.
(b) Normal checkings/savings accounts shall have a 0.25% tax on each withdrawal.
(c) Financial institutions shall pay a 10% tax on net income earned per standard yearly quarter.
8. Enforcement
(a) Failure to inform the Bank of Azalea and the Ministry of Economic Affairs of impending financial insolvency or time off high risk, with at least a week's notice, shall be considered a Criminal Fraud.
(b) Failure to comply with information release requirements shall be punished with a $500 per day fine after a 7 day grace period has passed, starting on the 1st of each month (the first fine would occur on the 2nd).
(i) Notice to the financial institutions must have been given by the Ministry of Economic Affairs in advance of the end of the month, and fees may be waived by the Ministry for fair reasons.
(ii) Failure to comply for 31 days shall count as very significant noncompliance under the Seizure Act.
(iii) Should no action under the Seizure Act be taken, and the financial institution is still failing to comply after 60 days, the Ministry of Economic Affairs may seize and liquidate the institution, paying off depositors first, then creditors (whoever the institution owes money to), and then shareholders.
(c) Failure to comply with a Ministry of Economic Affairs or Bank of Azalea audit after the set timeline (at least 7 days) has passed shall incur a $1,000 per day fine until compliance is achieved.
(i) Notice to the financial institutions must have been given by the Ministry of Economic Affairs in advance of the end of the month, and fees may be waived by the Ministry for fair reasons.
(ii) Failure to comply for 31 days shall count as very significant noncompliance under the Seizure Act.
(iii) Should no action under the Seizure Act be taken, and the financial institution is still failing to comply after 60 days, the Ministry of Economic Affairs may seize and liquidate the institution, paying off depositors first, then creditors (whoever the institution owes money to), and then shareholders.
(d) Incorrectly accounting taxes on profits at the end of each quarter shall incur a warning initially, with the institution required to file an updated accurate filing.
(i) For all future occurrences, the Ministry of Economic Affairs may levy a fine at its discretion.
(ii) Repeated failure to properly account taxes may be prosecuted as criminal fraud.
(e) Financial institutions who do not show activity and are not actively trying to offer products and services shall be considered as trying to commit “Financial Institutional Tax Evasion” which shall have a 15 minute jail period for the owner, and up to $5,000 in fines levied by the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
9. Supersession
(a) In any legal conflict the Banking Foundations Act shall supersede any other current, previous or post-creation bills or acts.
Enactment: This Act comes into force immediately upon passage.
Sponsor: N/A
Type: Act of Parliament
A
BILL
TO
Reform the Existing Banking Framework
BILL
TO
Reform the Existing Banking Framework
1. Short Title
(a) This bill shall be referred to as the "Banking Foundations Act".
(b) This bill was authored by Lysander Lyon.
(c) This bill repeals the Rebuild Banking Act.
(d) The Financial Institution Establishment Act, Section 8 of the Taxation Act, and Section 3 of the Financial Revisions Act shall remain repealed.
2. Commercial Banks
(a) Commercial banks shall be required to submit to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, once per month, the following information:
(i) A list of names of employees who have direct access to alter or withdraw from account balances, or the bank’s balance.
(ii) The lawyer or law firm hired by the bank.
(iii) The amount of deposits, cash on hand, cash loaned out, and the end of month balance change.
(b) If a commercial bank has deposits over $100,000, they are required to have a lawyer on staff or retainer.
(i) If a commercial bank cannot meet this requirement, they may file for an exception with the Ministry of Economic Affairs, on a monthly basis. This does not have to be granted.
(ii) If a commercial bank required to have a lawyer on staff or retainer, does not, the Ministry of Economic Affairs may order the bank to pause operations, or levy a fine, until they acquire one.
(c) Commercial banks may not own shares in a limited company.
(d) Commercial banks functioning within a limited company setting should maintain separate accounts for other aspects of the company from the bank’s own accounts.
(e) Commercial banks may offer banking accounts, certificates of deposit, loans, and credit cards.
(f) If a commercial bank wishes to offer an additional financial service, such as an ETF, or invest in a financial tool (bonds, ETFs), they must apply for a specific waiver from the Bank of Azalea to offer or invest in that service.
(i) Financial services should generally be restricted to investment banks.
3. Investment Banks
(a) Investment banks must make a reasonable effort to keep the public aware they are not a commercial bank.
(b) Investment banks may offer loans and investment accounts/funds. They also may create ETFs and bonds.
(c) Investment banks may not offer normal deposit accounts.
(d) Investment banks may create additional financial tools and services, but must apply for approval from the Bank of Azalea.
(i) The Bank of Azalea may issue blanket approvals, which will allow all investment banks to offer the financial tool/service, or specific approvals, which only authorize the requesting investment bank to offer the tool/service.
(ii) Narrow approvals may be done to allow the initial development of a service, or to keep higher-risk or capital-intensive tools limited to investment banks who are able to properly handle them, or for other reasons as determined by the Bank of Azalea.
4. Payment Service Providers
(a) Payment service providers (PSPs) shall exist to enable the processing of electronic payments, through non-Minecraft platforms.
(b) PSPs may not publish, sell, or otherwise share information that directly tracks, traces or identifies an individual or that individual’s transactions.
(c) PSPs may be ordered to share client information by a court order.
(d) PSPs may be owned by a registered limited company or directly by a financial institution.
(e) PSPs may not go public or hold assets unrelated to the PSP’s operations.
5. Credit Unions
(a) Credit unions are considered not-for-profit financial institutions.
(b) Credit unions are financial institutions that provide the same products as a commercial bank.
(i) Credit unions face the exact same restrictions as commercial banks, as outlined in sections 2(a) through 2(e).
(c) Credit unions may not offer additional financial services. They may request the ability to invest in another financial tool, which would be granted or denied by the Bank of Azalea, but these requests should be subject to more significant scrutiny due to the not-for-profit nature of the institution.
(d) Credit unions may retain no more than 10% of profits earned in a month.
(e) Credit unions shall be structured so that each $1 deposited is treated as one share owned, with each share being allowed to cast a vote. Credit unions with less than $200,000 in deposits shall elect a President, while credit unions with $200,000 or more in deposits shall elect a Board of Directors. This process, and credit unions more broadly, shall be subject to the Business Reform Act, and credit unions shall be treated as limited companies.
6. Activity and Reporting
(a) All financial institutions should have either an in-game location or a digital location (Discord server, website, etc.) for offering their financial products.
(b) If a financial institution should receive a plot due to a defaulting customer, the institution may continue to hold that plot in exception to any plot cap for a maximum of two months. After the two month period, the institution will be in violation of the plot cap if they still have more plots than allowed.
(c) The Ministry of Economic Affairs may require more information than is outlined in Section 2(a) in the monthly or quarterly reports for a category of financial institution, or for all financial institutions.
(d) Investment banks and payment service providers are required to file their reports to the Ministry of Economic Affairs once per standard yearly quarter.
7. Taxation
(a) Financial institutions are exempt from normal business tax rates.
(b) Normal checkings/savings accounts shall have a 0.25% tax on each withdrawal.
(c) Financial institutions shall pay a 10% tax on net income earned per standard yearly quarter.
8. Enforcement
(a) Failure to inform the Bank of Azalea and the Ministry of Economic Affairs of impending financial insolvency or time off high risk, with at least a week's notice, shall be considered a Criminal Fraud.
(b) Failure to comply with information release requirements shall be punished with a $500 per day fine after a 7 day grace period has passed, starting on the 1st of each month (the first fine would occur on the 2nd).
(i) Notice to the financial institutions must have been given by the Ministry of Economic Affairs in advance of the end of the month, and fees may be waived by the Ministry for fair reasons.
(ii) Failure to comply for 31 days shall count as very significant noncompliance under the Seizure Act.
(iii) Should no action under the Seizure Act be taken, and the financial institution is still failing to comply after 60 days, the Ministry of Economic Affairs may seize and liquidate the institution, paying off depositors first, then creditors (whoever the institution owes money to), and then shareholders.
(c) Failure to comply with a Ministry of Economic Affairs or Bank of Azalea audit after the set timeline (at least 7 days) has passed shall incur a $1,000 per day fine until compliance is achieved.
(i) Notice to the financial institutions must have been given by the Ministry of Economic Affairs in advance of the end of the month, and fees may be waived by the Ministry for fair reasons.
(ii) Failure to comply for 31 days shall count as very significant noncompliance under the Seizure Act.
(iii) Should no action under the Seizure Act be taken, and the financial institution is still failing to comply after 60 days, the Ministry of Economic Affairs may seize and liquidate the institution, paying off depositors first, then creditors (whoever the institution owes money to), and then shareholders.
(d) Incorrectly accounting taxes on profits at the end of each quarter shall incur a warning initially, with the institution required to file an updated accurate filing.
(i) For all future occurrences, the Ministry of Economic Affairs may levy a fine at its discretion.
(ii) Repeated failure to properly account taxes may be prosecuted as criminal fraud.
(e) Financial institutions who do not show activity and are not actively trying to offer products and services shall be considered as trying to commit “Financial Institutional Tax Evasion” which shall have a 15 minute jail period for the owner, and up to $5,000 in fines levied by the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
9. Supersession
(a) In any legal conflict the Banking Foundations Act shall supersede any other current, previous or post-creation bills or acts.
Enactment: This Act comes into force immediately upon passage.