Building Societies Act, 1976

Investment of surplus funds.

38.—(1) The Minister for Finance, after consultation with the Minister and the Central Bank, may prescribe the investments in which a society may invest such portion of its funds as are not immediately required by it for the purpose of the society.

(2) To the extent that a society's surplus funds are not invested in accordance with subsection (1), the society may keep them in cash in the custody of officers of the society or on current account, or on deposit with the Central Bank, a bank, the Post Office Savings Bank, a trustee savings bank certified under the Trustee Savings Banks Acts, 1863 to 1965, the Agricultural Credit Corporation Limited or the Industrial Credit Company Limited.

(3) The Registrar, after consultation with the Minister, the Minister for Finance and the Central Bank, may fix limits (whether by reference to amounts or to a proportion of total investments or otherwise) in respect of investments by a society in securities or in a specified class or classes of securities (denoted by reference to such matters as the Registrar may consider appropriate), and different limits may be fixed for different classes of societies.

(4) The investments which the Minister for Finance may prescribe under subsection (1) may, with the consent of the Central Bank, include Central Bank Reserve Bonds and in such a case society may require, conditioned for rendering a just and true section 48 of the Act of 1971 shall, notwithstanding subsection (3) of that section, apply to a society as if it were a bank.

(5) Where a society's surplus funds stand invested in a manner which was authorised under an enactment repealed by this Act or under subsection (1) but which, apart from this section, has ceased to be so authorised, authority is hereby given to continue to keep the funds invested in that manner.