Bill: Draft Synthetic Contracts and Forex Restriction Act

[Kat]

A
BILL
To

Restrict commercial banks from excessively speculative investment.​

The people of the Commonwealth of Redmont, through their elected Representatives in the Congress and the force of law ordained to that Congress by the people through the constitution, do hereby enact the following provisions into law:

1 - Short Title and Enactment
(1) This Act may be cited as the ‘Synthetic and Forex Contracts Restriction Act’
(2) This Act shall be enacted immediately upon its signage.
(3) This Act has been authored by Senator xSyncx.
(4) This Act has been sponsored by Representative Jesseya.
(5) This Act has been co-sponsored by Senator xSyncx.

2 - Reasons
(1) The Vanguard Crisis has revealed a need to restrict banks from engaging in unrecognized foreign exchange trading and echo equities.
(2) By limiting banks from engaging with these assets, depositor funds will be insulated from unnecessary speculation.

3 - Amend the Commercial Standards Act Section 18 to
(1) Financial Institutions
(a) A Financial Institution is a business that deals with deposits, loans, and/or investments.
(b) There are four types of financial institutions: Commercial Banks, Investment Banks, Stock Exchanges, and Credit Unions.

(2) Definition and Characteristics of a Commercial Bank:
(a) A Commercial Bank is a Financial Institution that is owned by an owner or a group of owners who may make all decisions regarding the bank and its investments, employees, and interest rates, among other business decisions..
(b) Profits of a Commercial Bank are shared among owners/shareholders as decided by its shareholder/operating agreements..
(c) Companies not registered as Commercial Banks may not take interest bearing deposits from customers for bank accounts.
(d) Companies registered as Commercial Banks may not trade in unrecognized foreign assets or currency.
(e) Companies registered as Commercial Banks may not trade echo securities nor hold stakes in companies or funds exposed to echo securities.
(3) Defining Characteristics of a Investment Bank:
(a) An Investment Bank can't take deposits.
(b) An Investment Bank is allowed to brokerage stocks through Stock Exchanges. invest for clients in funds, give out loans, and provide investment advice to clients
(i) Investment Banks may charge for these services
(ii) Investment Banks may trade in unrecognised currency and assets. This must be disclosed to clients in an accessible written form.
(iii) Investment Banks may trade echo securities and purchase stakes in companies or funds exposed to echo securities. This must be disclosed to clients in an accessible written form.
(c) Companies not registered as Investment Banks may not invest for customers or provide investment advice.
(d) Investment Banks may not have tax exemption status and will have to pay taxes on ingame balances.
(i) However, they will not need to pay Financial Institution tax as defined by the Taxation Act

(4) Definition and Characteristics of a Stock Exchange:
(a) A Stock Exchange is the sole Financial Institution able to list Redmont-based securities for public trading.
(b) A Stock Exchange reserves the right to charge clients commissions for each transaction in order to make a profit.
(c) Companies not registered as a Stock Exchange may not list Redmont-based securities for public trading.
(d) Companies registered as Stock Exchanges may not trade in unrecognized foreign assets or currency.
(e) Companies registered as Stock Exchanges may not trade echo securities nor hold stakes in companies or funds exposed to echo securities for their own gain.
(f) A Stock Exchange cannot take direct deposits. A registered Commercial Bank must be used as an intermediary.

(5) Definition and Characteristics of a Credit Union:
(a) A Credit Union is a Financial Institution that is governed by the members.
(b) A Credit Union must elect a leader through a democratic fashion.
(c) Profits of a Credit Union are distributed to the members of the Credit Union and/or reinvested back into the Credit Union through interests, services, or other costs that benefit all members of the Credit Union.

(6) False Advertisement: A commercial advertisement that contains untrue information, that would deceive the reasonable person. The advertiser must have acted knowingly. If the information is publicly accessible, it may be presumed that the advertiser was aware of it.

(7) Misleading Advertisement: A commercial advertisement that includes information that is true, but is presented in a way that may confuse or mislead the reasonable person. The below actions are considered misleading advertisement:
(a) Omitting information that a reasonable person would consider in their decision making.
(b) Using ambiguous language

(8) Advertising Puffery: Vague, wildly exaggerated claims that no reasonable person would take seriously. For example, “the best restaurant in the world”.

(9) Commercial Advertisement: An advertisement intended to benefit or harm a privately owned or operated business.

(10) Political Advertisement: An advertisement intended to promote a political message, influence public opinion of a social issue, or persuade individuals to support a candidate, party or policy.

(11) “Authorising an advertisement”: An individual or organization approving a commercial advertisement by:
(a) Displaying the advertisement of their own volition.
(b) Agreeing to have another individual or organization display the advertisement on their behalf is considered authorization.

(12) Echo Security: A synthetic security contingent on the value of real-world assets, including, but not limited to; stocks and derivatives.