While I have my own views as to the application of United States banking and securities laws to this fact situation, I prefer not to spell those out in my prepared remarks. Instead, we all might prosper by sharing our views as to the proper application of our home country’s laws to individuals in our countries who might do business with IIB. I should note that this fact situation is a pure figment of my imagination. The cooperative efforts of bank supervisors over the world should be designed to ensure precisely against this sort of bank. In other words, like Atlantis, IIB should never surface above water. Our discussion should include responses to the following questions: (1) is IIB engaged in an impermissible activity in your home country; (2) if it is impermissible, what authority has responsibility for enforcing that law; (3) if impermissible, is that a civil or criminal violation; (4) if impermissible, is there any way for IIB to qualify to do business in your home country; and finally, (5) does your home-country court have jurisdiction to hear cases brought by a customer against IIB? Conclusion To conclude, I simply wish to commend the banking and legal communities for learning as much about electronic and Internet banking as they can, now, and for trying to stay ahead of the curve of ever evolving and improving technology. I fully agree with the philosophy of letting the markets decide what will work and what will not.
Being a modern bank, it conducts business principally on the Internet. IIB has a series of quite attractive Internet pages where its products are offered. These pages spell out the products, deposit terms and interest rates, and loan terms and interest rates. All agreements are governed by the law of Atlantis. All deposits are deemed received over IIB’s “counters” in Atlantis, and all loans are paid out of Atlantis. Atlantis has an enjoyable ambiance even exceeding that of Nice and Saint Paul de Vence; therefore, I see no need to leave the island. I do receive and entertain customers when they visit Atlantis. I do place telephone calls to customers who have responded to my Internet page, but I do not make cold calls to customers. Communications with customers over the Internet are state-of-the-art secure. Customers receive account statements over the Internet, issue payment instruments to IIB over the Internet, and request loans over the Internet. All payments to and from accounts are made by wire transfer to IIB’s correspondent account maintained on the books of Atlantis Bank, the only bank chartered under Atlantis law authorized to engage in banking transactions with Atlantis residents. Customers may instruct IIB to make payments for their account. These too are consummated by means of payments out of IIB’s account at Atlantis Bank. Loans are disbursed and paid the same way. The question presented is whether IIB is violating the law of the countries in which its customers are located.