Building Societies Act, 1989
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Appointment of inspector and calling of special meeting. |
45.—(1) Where— | |
(a) an application is made to the Central Bank by not less than one-tenth of the total number of members of a building society entitled to vote pursuant to section 69 (1) (a) or 200 such members, whichever is the lesser; or | ||
(b) the Central Bank is of the opinion that an investigation should be held into the affairs of a society or that the affairs of the society call for consideration by a meeting of the members of the society; | ||
the Bank, as it thinks proper, may appoint one or more inspectors to investigate the affairs of the society and, where necessary, any subsidiary or other associated body and to report thereon in such manner as it directs, or may call a special meeting of the society. | ||
(2) The Central Bank may, either on the same or on different occasions, both appoint an inspector and call a meeting under subsection (1). | ||
(3) (a) An application under this section shall be supported by such evidence as the Central Bank may direct, for the purposes of showing that the applicants have good reason for requiring the investigation to be made or the meeting to be called and that they are not actuated by malicious motives in their application. | ||
(b) Such notice of the application shall be given to the society and, in a case where the investigation is to extend to its affairs also, to the subsidiary or associated body of the society, as the Central Bank may direct. | ||
(c) The Central Bank may require the applicants to give security for payment of the costs of the investigation or meeting before the inspector is appointed or the meeting is called subject, in the case of the costs of an investigation, to an amount not exceeding £200,000. | ||
(d) As regards the expenses of and incidental to the investigation or meeting, the expenses shall be defrayed by the applicants or out of the funds of the society or by the members or officers or former members or officers of the society in such proportions as the Central Bank may direct but, in the case of an investigation (in whichever way instituted), the expenses may be defrayed in the first instance by the Bank but without prejudice to its rights to contribution under section 46 . | ||
(4) (a) The Central Bank may give such directions as it thinks fit in relation to the calling, holding and conduct of a meeting held under this section (including the time and place of the meeting and the matters to be discussed and determined at the meeting). | ||
(b) The Central Bank shall appoint a person to be chairman of the meeting. | ||
(c) The meeting shall have all the powers of a meeting called according to the rules of the society. | ||
(d) This subsection shall have effect notwithstanding anything in the rules of the society. | ||
(5) Before appointing an inspector or calling a meeting under this section the Central Bank may, if it is of the opinion that it would not be prejudicial to the interests of members or creditors, notify the society in writing of the action which it proposes to take and of the grounds on which it proposes to take it and, in such a case, the society shall, within 14 days of the receipt of the notification, be entitled to give to the Bank an explanatory statement in writing. | ||
(6) Where an inspector appointed under this section thinks it necessary for the purposes of his investigation to investigate also the affairs of any other society or any body corporate which is or has at any relevant time been a subsidiary of, or associated with, the first-mentioned society, he shall, with the approval of the Central Bank, have power to do so, and shall report on the affairs of the other society or body corporate so far as he thinks the results of his investigation thereof are relevant to the investigation of the affairs of the first-mentioned society. |