The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is to set up a working group to study the impact of banking services through the Internet.
Deputy chief executive for banking David Carse said the existing Banking Ordinance could regulate only banks which conducted business or attracted deposits in Hong Kong.
He said if overseas banks, or so called 'virtual' banks, set up Internet sites inviting business worldwide - and depositors could gain access to these pages - ambiguities would arise.
Mr Carse said the Banking Ordinance prohibited banks from using advertisements to invite the Hong Kong public to make deposits without the authority's consent.
Internet sites may not be regarded as advertisements because they are not specifically designed to target audiences in Hong Kong.
Mr Carse said the manner in which Internet users accessed information was different from standard advertisements. Instead of being exposed to advertisements through reading material or on television, Internet users took more initiative by targeting a specific location in order to gather the desired information.