Trustee Savings Banks Act, 1989

PART IV

Supervision of Trustee Savings Banks

Keeping of books, accounts and other records by trustee savings bank and inspection thereof by Central Bank.

24.—(1) A trustee savings bank shall keep at an office or offices in the State such books, accounts and other records as the Central Bank may specify and shall, as soon as may be, notify the Central Bank of the address of every office at which they are kept for the time being; different books, accounts and records may be specified by the Central Bank under this subsection in relation to different trustee savings banks.

(2) (a) An officer of the Central Bank, or a person possessing qualifications or experience that the Governor of the Central Bank considers appropriate, duly authorised in writing in that behalf by the Governor of the Central Bank (referred to subsequently in this section as “an authorised officer”) may, for the purpose of the performance by the Central Bank of its functions under this Act—

(i) investigate the affairs or any particular part of the affairs of a trustee savings bank and its conduct of its business or of any particular part of its business and report to the Central Bank thereon,

(ii) for the purposes of the investigation, upon production, if required, of his authorisation, at all reasonable times enter any office of the bank and examine and take copies of, or of extracts from, any books, accounts or other records found there and kept pursuant to this section and any other records relating to the business of the bank found there,

(iii) require any person in that office—

(I) to give him any information within his knowledge or procurement that he reasonably considers to be necessary for the purposes of the investigation,

(II) to produce to him any books, accounts or records aforesaid that are in his power, possession or procurement,

(III) to permit him to examine and take copies of, or of extracts from, any such books, accounts or records, and

(IV) to give to him any information within his knowledge or procurement in relation to entries in the books, accounts or records that he may reasonably consider to be necessary for the purposes of the investigation.

(b) (i) References in paragraph (a) to a trustee savings bank include references to—

(I) a subsidiary of the bank,

(II) if the bank is a subsidiary—

(A) its holding company, and

(B) any other subsidiary of its holding company,

and

(III) an associated company of the bank.

(ii) In subparagraph (i) “associated company”, in relation to a trustee savings bank, means a company (within the meaning of section 155 of the Act of 1963)—

(I) not less than 20 per cent. in nominal value of whose—

(A) equity share capital, or

(B) shares carrying voting rights (other than voting rights which arise only in specified circumstances),

are held by the bank,

and

(II) an investigation of the affairs, or a specified part of the affairs, of which or of the conduct of the business of which, or a specified part of the business of which, is, in the opinion of the Central Bank, necessary for the purposes of a like investigation in relation to the bank.

(3) Books, accounts and other records kept in pursuance of this section shall be in addition to any books, accounts or other records required to be kept under any other enactment.

(4) Books, accounts and other records may be kept for the purposes of this Act either in a legible form or (whether by electronic or other automatic means) in a non-legible form that is capable of being reproduced in a legible form.

(5) A person who contravenes subsection (1) or obstructs or impedes an authorised officer in the performance of his functions under this section or, without reasonable excuse, fails or refuses to comply with a requirement under this section or who, in purported compliance with such a requirement, gives information to an authorised officer that he knows to be false or misleading shall be guilty of an offence.