BANKERS are tightening up their internal systems to try and deny help to those trying to sell ''prime bank instruments''.
David Carse, deputy chief executive (banking) of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, said that although no specific guidelines had been issued on the fraud, recent guidelines on internal control should make life more difficult for those running the schemes.
In the United States, a warning notice issued to banks in October last year warning about ''complex and possibly illegal schemes'' followed similar warnings in 1990 and 1982.
Christopher Sparks of the Bank of England told a workshop last year that ''it is not sufficient to conclude that an 'odd' deal should proceed 'because there is no financial risk to us'.'' The involvement of a major bank can add credibility to a scheme, he said.
''Beware the deal that seems to be too good to be true or does not make commercial sense,'' he said.