Building Societies Act, 1976

Deposit at Central Bank.

20.—(1) A society shall not carry on business or exercise any power under section 22 unless it maintains in the Central Bank a deposit of an amount determined in accordance with this section.

(2) (a) The deposit under this section shall be such amount or such proportion of the total amount due to shareholders and depositors as the Minister, after consultation with the Minister for Finance, shall prescribe but shall not be less than £20,000 nor more than £500,000.

(b) Different amounts or different proportions may be prescribed for different classes of societies, denoted by reference to such matters as the Minister, after consultation with the Minister for Finance, may consider appropriate.

(3) The amount of a deposit under this section shall be calculated by the Central Bank twice yearly (at intervals which, in so far as is practicable, are of equal length) in accordance with subsection (2) and by reference to returns made by the society at the request of the Central Bank, and in the case of a society incorporated after the commencement of this section the amount of a deposit under this section shall be calculated by the Central Bank as soon as may be after it has been notified by the Registrar of the incorporation of the society under section 11.

(4) The amount of a deposit under this section shall, where necessary, be increased to the appropriate amount calculated under subsection (3), not later than seven days after the date of the receipt by the society of notification from the Central Bank of the amount required to effect the increase.

(5) The Central Bank may settle the amount of a deposit under this section at the nearest round figure in hundreds of pounds.

(6) A deposit under this section shall carry interest at such a rate (not being less than the rate payable from time to time by the Central Bank on deposits maintained in the Central Bank pursuant to section 7 of the Act of 1971) and payable in such manner and at such times as may be determined by the Central Bank from time to time.

(7) Any charge purported to be created on a deposit under this section shall be void.

(8) A deposit under this section shall not be subject to any form of execution in satisfaction of any claim of, or any judgment, order or decree of any court in the State in favour of any creditor of a society, otherwise than under and in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

(9) The Registrar may require a society to produce a certificate from the Central Bank that the society is complying with the requirements of this section.

(10) (a) In the case of a society to which section 18 applies, the initial calculation of the amount of the deposit for the purposes of this section shall be made by the Central Bank as soon as may be after the commencement of this section or as soon as may be after notification by the Registrar of incorporation under section 11, whichever is the later.

(b) In the case of any other society this section shall not apply during the period of three months beginning at the commencement of this section.

(11) For the purposes of this section the onus of proving to the Registrar that it has begun to carry on business shall lie on a society.