The Basic Law of Hong Kong and the Sino-British Joint Declaration provides that Hong Kong retains full autonomy with respect to currency issuance. Currency in Hong Kong is issued by the government and three local banks (HSBC, Bank of China and Standard Chartered) under the supervision of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, which was an semi-independent public body established in the early 1990s to regulate banks and manage exchange funds and serves until now the territory's de facto "central bank".[23] Banknotes are printed by Hong Kong Note Printing Limited. A bank can issue a Hong Kong dollar only if it has the equivalent exchange in US dollars on deposit.