Building Societies Act, 1989

Financial services.

29.—(1) Subject to section 36 and to subsections (3) and (4) of this section, a building society may provide, as principal or as agent, financial services.

(2) In this section “financial services” means any of the following activities—

(a) arranging the provision of credit, including the joining of credit card companies,

(b) the giving of guarantees and indemnities,

(c) the sale and purchase of financial obligations, debts and securities,

(d) investment services,

(e) the discounting of credit instruments,

(f) the acceptance of deposits of money for current accounts, the collection of cheques and the payment of cheques drawn on the society,

(g) insurance,

(h) the maintenance of a company's register of members,

(i) the provision of advice relating to taxation and financial planning,

(j) financing hire-purchase,

(k) leasing,

(l) money transmission,

(m) trusteeship,

(n) executorship,

(o) foreign exchange,

(p) the operation of a credit transfer system,

(q) the issue of drafts, travellers cheques and letters of credit,

or other activities of a similar nature (including advisory services) that appear to the Central Bank to be financial services but does not include the making of loans.

(3) Subject to section 30 , a society shall not carry on insurance business otherwise than by a subsidiary or other associated body of the society.

(4) The undertaking by a society or the subsidiary or other associated body of a society of any activity pursuant to the provisions of this section and section 36 shall be subject to the provisions of any other enactment.

(5) Section 26 of the Central Bank Act, 1971 (which relates to the collection of cheques and other instruments), is amended—

(a) by the insertion of the words “or a building society authorised under the Building Societies Act, 1989” after “1965” in both subsections (2) and (3) of that section,

(b) by the insertion in subsection (6) of that section of the following additional paragraph—

“(f) any document issued by a person who maintains an account with a building society, authorised under the Building Societies Act, 1989, which is intended to enable a person to obtain payment from the building society of the sum mentioned in the document.”.

(6) Section 30 of the Succession Act, 1965 (which relates to the power to grant representation to a trust corporation), is amended by the insertion in subsection (4) (b) of that section of the following additional subparagraph—

“(v) a building society authorised under the Building Societies Act, 1989; or”.