Section 49: Minimum cash balances
consolidated text (as at 2016, amended since). juris shows the text as it was consolidated; it does not confirm that this is the law in force today.
49. Minimum cash balances
(1) The Bank may require all banks to maintain minimum cash balances
up to 25 per cent of every bank’s total deposit and other liabilities as the
Bank may specify.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the Bank may, as it may determine,
not impose a minimum cash balance requirement in respect of deposits and
other liabilities of a bank, to the extent that such deposits and other liabilities
have no impact on the money supply in Mauritius.
(3) Cash balances under subsection (1) shall consist of balances held
with the Bank and may also include currency notes and coins in the vaults of
banks.
(4) Subject to the overall limit specified in subsection (1), the Bank may
prescribe different ratios for different types of liabilities and may further prescribe the method of computing the amount of required reserves provided
that the ratios shall be uniform for all banks.
(5) Any requirement by the Bank under subsections (1) and (3) shall be
notified in writing and shall take effect on receipt of the notification or at
such other time as the Bank may specify in the notice.
(6) The Bank may impose on any bank which fails to maintain the minimum balances required under this section a penalty charge at such rate of
interest, which shall not be more than 3 times the prevailing published interest rate on advances to banks in accordance with section 8, as the Bank
may determine from time to time calculated on the deficiency for so long as
the failure continues and such charge may be recovered by deduction from
any balance of, or money owing to, the bank concerned, or as if it were a
civil debt.
(7) The Bank may require any financial institution to maintain such minimum cash balances as would be required under subsections (1) and (3) as if
it were a bank and on the same terms and conditions as are specified in subsections (5) and (6), provided that the requirements are applied fairly and
impartially, but may not necessarily be the same for all financial institutions,
as the case may be.