Research Proposal: Effectiveness of Consumer Protection in HK Banks

This research proposal investigates the effectiveness of legislative protection for financial product consumers in Hong Kong, comparing it with other major global financial centers. The study aims to analyze the current regulatory framework, including the role of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), and identify potential gaps in consumer protection. The research will employ a black-letter approach in doctrinal research, supplemented by comparative analysis with countries like the UK and Australia. The methodology includes examining relevant legislation, case law, and industry practices, while also considering ethical implications and data protection. The proposal outlines research objectives, questions, and a literature review covering consumer protection, financial regulation, and self-regulation through codes of banking practice. The findings will be presented with recommendations and conclusions, offering insights into improving consumer protection within the Hong Kong banking sector.

Running head: RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Effectiveness of Legislative Protection for Financial Product Consumer in Hong Kong
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1
RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Title of the research.........................................................................................................................3
Reasons and concept for research................................................................................................3
Research Objectives.....................................................................................................................3
Research Questions......................................................................................................................4
Literature review..............................................................................................................................5
Introduction..................................................................................................................................5
Customer protection.....................................................................................................................5
Financial Regulation and Banking Consumer Protection............................................................5
Self-regulation by way of Codes of Banking Practice.................................................................8
Summary......................................................................................................................................8
Methodology....................................................................................................................................9
Black-letter approach in doctrinal research.................................................................................9
Comparative approaches..............................................................................................................9
Ethics application.......................................................................................................................10
Other provisional chapters.............................................................................................................10
Bibliography..................................................................................................................................12

2
RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Introduction
There is a view which is held by the Hong Kong Monitory Authority (HKMA) that the
cornerstone for the sustainable development of banks is the confidence and trust of the
consumers. These concepts promote the stability of banking within the country. To attain and
maintain the trust and confidence of the consumers the banks have the responsibility of providing
a fair and just treatment to its consumers. One of the initiatives which have been taken by the
HKMA in this regard is the credit card reforms. The practice includes the HMKA operating
alongside other industries which it provide enhanced credit card experience to the consumers
which is provided in Australia, US and UK. The industry announced total of 31 measures which
have been implemented duly within the industry. The purpose of this measures is the promotion
of fair and reasonable practices in relation to credit card providers. A few of these measures aim
to reduce the cost which is borne by the customers in relation to credit cards and also enhance the
accountability and disclosure of credit card providers. The implementation of these reforms is set
to lift the standard of Hong Kong in relation to good credit card practices up to other countries
such as UK, US and Australia. The HKMA has also worked towards development of the Treat
Customers Fairly (TCF) Charter for retail banks as well as Treat Customers Fairly Charter for
Private Wealth Management Industry which can be applied on private banks. Five high levels
TCF principles are incorporated through both charters which have been drawn from good local
and oversee practices as well as G20 High-Level Principles on Financial Consumer Protection1.
However the situation in which the banking industry of Hong Kong is presently is not up
to the standards which is provided by some of the other global financial leaders such s Australia,
1 Cranston, Ross. Principles of banking law. Oxford university press, 2017.

3
RESEARCH PROPOSAL
UK and USA. The primary purpose of the research will to be find ways to provide better
protection to the consumers of banking product within Hong Kong.
Title of the research
Assessment of the Effectiveness of Legislative Protection for Financial Product
Consumer in Hong Kong as Comparative of Other Major Global Financial Centre and North
Asia Counterparts
Reasons and concept for research
As the problems in relation to issues like increase in bank fee and charge are rising, the
demands that the HKMA should be looking to find out ways for the purpose of protecting the
bank customers.
Research Objectives
The objectives of the research
 To find out ways to protect the customers using bank services
 To compare the competition arrangement of Hong Kong with that of the other countries
like US, UK, Singapore and Australia
 To identify the flaws in the provisions laid down in HK towards the protection of

4
RESEARCH PROPOSAL
customers.
 To identify the consideration and implication changes required for the protection of
customers.
Research Questions
The questions in relation to the research
 What are the ways to protect the customers using bank services
 What is the difference between the competition arrangement of Hong Kong with that of
the other countries like US, UK, Singapore and Australia
 What are the flaws in the provisions laid down in HK towards the protection of
customers.
 What are the consideration and implication changes required for the protection of
customers.
Literature review
Introduction
This section of the research is going to conduct a review of literature in relation to
Effectiveness of Legislative Protection for Financial Product Consumer in Hong Kong. The
section will also identify the protection framework which is provided to consumers of banking
products in the other counties such as United States, United Kingdom and Australia. The section
of the paper will also describe the legislative framework in place in Hong Kong for the

5
RESEARCH PROPOSAL
protection of consumers of banking products. Several journal articles would be analyzed by this
section of the research in order to locate the gap between what research is available and what
research is required in relation to the topic.
Customer protection
Consumer protection has been defined by Douglas as the concept of developing trust and
confidence of the consumer towards the market and to ensure that organizations do not indulge
in activities which would jeopardize the interest of the consumer in order to make personal gains.
Therefore the section will look to consider in details the meaning of consumer protection in
relation to the financial sector of Hong Kong2.
Financial Regulation and Banking Consumer Protection
The Financial Services Authority is a prudent regulator operating within the UK for the
purpose of ensuring protection of consumers in the financial sector. On the other hand in
Australia the Australian Securities and investment Commission is an independent regulator
which does the same job. However in contract there is no express authority which has been
designated for the purpose of protecting consumers within the banking industry. The Financial
Services Authority (FSA) provides express mandates in relation to consumer protection in the
banking industry. There are various regulatory objectives which the FSA has and two out of
which are related to consumers. They are namely promoting the understanding in relation to the
financial system within the consumers and also to secure a reasonable and adequate degree of
protection for them. Other services such as promoting education and financial literacy among the
2 Arner, Douglas W., et al. Financial Markets in Hong Kong: law and practice. Oxford University Press, 2016.ral

6
RESEARCH PROPOSAL
consumers are also provided by the regulator. The authority also conducts competition scrutiny
in relation to the industry3.
When it comes to Australia, the country adopts a functional model in relation to financial
supervision where different aspects of the market is looked after by different agencies. The
Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) is the agency which operates in relation to
prudential regulations on the other hand the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
(ACCC) and ASIC deal with competition in financial system and consumer protection
respectively. Even where the main function of APRA is in relation to ensuring financial safety it
is also directed to "balance the objectives of financial safety and efficiency, competition,
contestability and competitive neutrality." Irrespective of its other functions the ASIC is also
required to ensure compliance in relation to Australian Code of Banking Practice, approving
dispute resolution schemes like Ombudsman Scheme, checking customer complaints system, and
promoting consumer education. In relation to economy-wide remit the responsibility of ACCC
also extends to ensuring that the financial system is competitive4.
When it comes to Hong Kong the division of financial supervisory duties is done among
different regulators with reference to the financial market which is to be regulated. The primary
regulators are the Securities and Futur, es Commission (SFC), the Office of the Commissioner of
Insurance (OCI) and Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA). The general function of the
HMKA is to "to promote and encourage proper standards of conduct" and "to provide a measure
of protection to depositors" in relation to authorized institutions. However the consideration of
3 Caprio, Gerard, et al. "Macro-financial determinants of the great financial crisis: Implications for financial
regulation." Journal of Banking & Finance 44 (2014): 114-129.
4 Frame, W. Scott, and Lawrence J. White. "Technological change, financial innovation, and diffusion in banking."
(2014).

7
RESEARCH PROPOSAL
such functions has to be done in the light of the primary functions of the HKMA that is the
promotion of effective working and general stability of the banking system. Therefore as the
primary functions of HKMA are in relation to macro issue towards the functioning of the
banking system, its formal powers in relation to the banking ordinances cannot be said to be
suited towards consumer matters. There are others means through which the HMKA is well
equipped such as moral suasion, encouraging compliance to the Code of Banking Practice and
handling of customer complaints which may be to an extent effective in relation to consumer
affairs5.
Self-regulation by way of Codes of Banking Practice
Moreover apart from the official regulations provided by the regulator, self regulations
imposed by the industries plays a important role in the consumer education and protection
through setting up a minimum standard in relation to market conduct. Voluntary codes of
banking practices sponsored or issued through the industry association have been formulate by
all the three countries6. Although there may be variation in relation to the exact content, the
scope of such codes usually covers disclosure requirements, account operation, dispute
resolution and principles of conduct. However irrespective of other differences the effectiveness
and from of compliance monitoring may vary. Both the Australian and UK codes mandated that
the subscribers must incorporate internal procedures in order to handle customer complaints
which have to comply with certain standards. Moreover the members have to be a part of an
external dispute resolution mechanism like Ombudsman scheme for customers’ future recourse7.
5 Egan, Mark, Ali Hortaçsu, and Gregor Matvos. "Deposit competition and financial fragility: Evidence from the us
banking sector." The American Economic Review 107.1 (2017): 169-216.
6 Caprio, Gerard, et al. "Macro-financial determinants of the great financial crisis: Implications for financial
regulation." Journal of Banking & Finance 44 (2014): 114-129.
7 Coffee Jr, John C., Hillary Sale, and M. Todd Henderson. "Securities regulation: Cases and materials." (2015).

8
RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Summary
Thus through the section the researcher will establish the shortcoming of the system
which operates within Hong Kong in relation to the protection of the consumers as compared to
that of the regulations which have been imposed on the banking sectors of countries like UK and
Australia. The gap which has been identified by the researcher in relation to the research will be
attempted to be closed by him while conducting this research.
Methodology
Black-letter approach in doctrinal research
For the purpose of conducting the research the researcher is going to adopt the Black-
letter approach in doctrinal research. This method will be selected by the researcher through
taking into consideration the topic of the research. The researcher will also taken into
consideration the amount of resources and time which the researcher is willing to allocate in
relation to the research. The 'black letter' methodology is the most traditional approach in relation
to a law research. The method takes its name through the tendency of legalistic approaches of
concentrating only on the 'letter of the law'. Through this method the researcher will reduce the
topic of law to a mandatory descriptive analysis of several co-ordinate and technical legal rules
which are found through primary sources. The primary objective why which the researcher will
use this approach in relation to the research is to organize, collate and describe legal rules as well
as provide commentary on the significance and emergence of authoritative legal sources through
which consideration of rules on relation case laws is done for identifying an underlying system.
The selected methodology mandates the researcher to give meaning to a cases based on the fact
that its forms a system of inter-related rules instead of a stand alone decision8.
8 Dressler, Joshua. Black Letter Outline on Criminal Law. West Academic, 2015.

9
RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Comparative approaches
The researcher is going to have a comparative approach in relation to the research.
Through this approach the researcher would be able to compare and contrast the legislative
framework of Honk Kong in relation to consumer protection with the legislative framework of
the other countries such as Australia and UK. The approach is usually adopted when the aim of
the researcher is to find out the short coming of a system and r=make recommendations in
relation to the topic9.
Ethics application
While collecting data in relation to the research which is going to be both secondary and
primary in nature the researcher is going to comply with the provisions of the data protection
legislation. The data collected in relation to the research is going to be kept confidential and
would not be disclosed without permission. The researcher will acknowledge all sources which
have been used for the purpose of conducting this research10.
Other provisional chapters
The research will have a discussion section where the results which have been obtained in
relation to the research will be analyzed the researcher. The research will also include the
9 Sekaran, Uma, and Roger Bougie. Research methods for business: A skill building approach. John Wiley & Sons,
2016.
10 Glesne, Corrine. Becoming qualitative researchers: An introduction. Pearson, 2015.

10
RESEARCH PROPOSAL
chapters of recommendation and conclusion where the result obtained through the research will
be stated.

11
RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Bibliography
Arner, Douglas W., et al. Financial Markets in Hong Kong: law and practice. Oxford University
Press, 2016.ral
Caprio, Gerard, et al. "Macro-financial determinants of the great financial crisis: Implications for
financial regulation." Journal of Banking & Finance 44 (2014): 114-129.
Coffee Jr, John C., Hillary Sale, and M. Todd Henderson. "Securities regulation: Cases and
materials." (2015).
Cranston, Ross. Principles of banking law. Oxford university press, 2017.
Dressler, Joshua. Black Letter Outline on Criminal Law. West Academic, 2015.
Egan, Mark, Ali Hortaçsu, and Gregor Matvos. "Deposit competition and financial fragility:
Evidence from the us banking sector." The American Economic Review 107.1 (2017): 169-216.
Egan, Mark, Ali Hortaçsu, and Gregor Matvos. "Deposit competition and financial fragility:
Evidence from the us banking sector." The American Economic Review 107.1 (2017): 169-216.
Frame, W. Scott, and Lawrence J. White. "Technological change, financial innovation, and
diffusion in banking." (2014).
Glesne, Corrine. Becoming qualitative researchers: An introduction. Pearson, 2015.
Kastner, Lisa. "‘Much ado about nothing?’Transnational civil society, consumer protection and
financial regulatory reform." Review of International Political Economy 21.6 (2014): 1313-1345.