PRIMER: Hong Kong’s manager in charge regime

Author: Karry Lai | Published: 25 Jan 2018

What is the manager in charge regime?

Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) introduced the manager in charge (MIC) regime to increase senior management accountability for SFC-licensed corporations, of which there are more than 2,000 in the region. The regime was fully implemented in October 2017.

The industry is paying close attention to how the regime plays out in practice, in an enforcement scenario. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has also required that registered institutions (RIs), authorised institutions under the Banking Ordinance and registered with the SFC to conduct regulated activities, submit their information to the SFC and the HKMA between March 16 and April 16 2018. HKMA’s requirement aims to harmonise existing governance frameworks of RIs under section 72B of the Banking Ordinance with the MIC regime.

Under the MIC, senior management, including directors, responsible officers (ROs) and managers in charge of eight core...