Victoria University
Victoria Law School
Law Of Financial Institutions and Securities
BLO3405
Assignment
Semester 2, 2013
This assignment consists of two questions totalling 25 marks.
Answer both questions.
QUESTION 1.
A consortium of investors proposes to form a bank that will operate throughout Australia. The new entity will be a public company operating under the name, Oz Bank Ltd.
Oz Bank Ltd will offer the same range of services and products as other major trading banks in Australia.
Required
Write an essay or report describing amongst other things:
• the regulatory requirements ( describing the regulatory framework) that
Oz Bank will need to satisfy in order to gain authorisation from the relevant
regulator to engage in a banking business
• the regulatory environment and legal matters Oz Bank will need to comply with in the course if its business, including on-going disclosure obligations in providing a variety of services to its consumer customers
You may select one retail trading bank operating in Australia, using its corporate and organisational structure as a model for Oz Bank Ltd.
( Do not discuss incorporation issues under the Corporations Act 2001 Cth. However, other
aspects of this legislation will be relevant)
( 15 Marks)
Length: 2,000 –2,500 words
Topic coverage: selected topics among topics 1- 9
Topics 1-9
1. Financial and banking system
2. Relationship between bank and customer
3. Bank accounts
4. Bank’s rights and duties
5. Bank secrecy
6. Industry codes
7. FSR
8. Consumer protection
9. Consumer credit
QUESTION 2.
Jill is about to open accounts with Nova Bank Ltd (‘Nova’) in Melbourne, and requests a savings account and a credit card facility.
Currently, she has a credit card account with Elbe Bank, and a personal, unsecured loan of $2,000 from Aspen Finance Ltd.
As part of the procedure for opening the accounts with Nova, she signs various forms that she does not read. She is informed that further information about these account facilities will be sent to her in the mail.
A few days later, her application has been duly processed and she is issued with the requested accounts.
Later, Jill learns that Nova had conducted credit checks on her with a Credit Reporting Agency (CRA) prior to issuing the accounts to her, and Nova had approached her former employer to glean information about her employment history, revealing that Jill had applied to Nova for a credit card with a $4,000 limit.
In respect of all of these matters, Nova denies it has done anything wrong.
Required
Describe the information about Jill that is likely to be in the credit report from the CRA, and advise Jill of her legal position in respect of Nova’s actions
( 10 Marks)
Length: approximately 1,000 words
( Total: 25 Marks)
( Assignment instructions on the next page).
Assignment Requirements.
A. Your assignment may be written as a report, or in essay format. In either case, you may adopt headings and sub-headings, and referencing will be required.
B. This assignment should be:-
• approximately 3,000- 3,500 words total
• typewritten on A4 paper
• presented in an appropriate cover
C. Begin Questions 1 and 2 on separate pages.
D. The assignment counts for 25% of the total assessment in this subject.
E. The due date for the assignment is WEEK 10, Friday 4 October
How to submit
(1) Students must submit an e-copy of their assignment through WEBCT/ Blackboard by the due date. This allows for official receipt of the assignment.
AND
(2) submit a hardcopy at the their lecture or tutorial in week 11.
F. Extensions will only be granted in respect of written requests given on grounds available
for special consideration for exams i.e bereavement or medical condition (with appropriate
evidence). If no permission is sought and obtained for an extension, penalties apply.
G. Ensure that you refer to authorities ( texts, cases and legislation) accurately. Refer to VU’s
plagiarism and referencing policies. In particular:
• Acknowledge sources, including textbooks and articles and internet materials. see http://www.vu.edu.au/library/referencing-copyright/referencing-guides
• Do not quote from source material without using quotation marks.
• Even where you do not quote directly from a source but use an idea from that source, you must acknowledge that source even when you express it in your own words.
• Include a bibliography at the end of the assignment
H. Recommended reading includes:
• Internet references given in lectures, including the legal search engine
www.austlii.edu.au (search under ‘banking’) and the on-line publications of various law firms such as www.aar.com.au
• Butterworths online publications (available through VU’s intranet/ library site)
• Your textbook and other banking law texts
Footnotes must be used to acknowledge the source or sources of information contained in the assignment. You put a raised number at the end of the information you are citing. These numbers run in order throughout the essay for example, after the first footnote it would run 1,2,3 etc. When footnoting, the details of the origin of each of the numbered references are given at the foot of each page. For all referencing questions for your assignment or any legal writing See:
1. Australian Guide to Legal Citation: The VU Library has a 4 page edited version under Information for researchers: Click on Information for researchers and then click on Referencing and then click on Style Manuals.
See: http://w2.vu.edu.au/library/referencing/files/AGLC2.pdf
See the AGLC on the Online Learning Management System:
Also see Monash Legal Abbreviations for abbreviations of legal publications.
See: http://www.lib.monash.edu.au/legal-abbreviations
( Continued)
I. How you are assessed: Marking Criteria
Content: Has the student identified and articulated the relevant content/legal
issues/information in the answer? Has the student “researched†the topic, explored the relevant cases (where relevant)?
-Structure: Has the material/content been presented in a cogent, logical, and thorough manner?
-Relevance and Completeness: Has the student answered the question? Have all the elements of the question been addressed?
-Analysis: Has the student “critically analysed†and “discussed†the content?
-Understanding: Has the student demonstrated an understanding of the content and the issues arising from an analysis of that content?
-Presentation: Has the answer been presented (e.g written) in a clear and concise manner?
-Conclusion: Has the student reached a conclusion and used appropriate evidence to justify this conclusion?
Marc Posthouwer,
Victoria Law School,
30 July, 2013.
End of material
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