Citation and commencement

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Building Societies (General Charge and Fees) Regulations 1991 and shall come into force on 1st April 1991.

Interpretation

2. In these Regulations-

"the Act" means the Building Societies Act 1986;

"the accounting year 1991/92" means the period of 12 months ending on 31st March 1992;

"amalgamation" means an amalgamation under section 93 of the Act;

"operative date" means the date on which these Regulations come into force;

"registered", in relation to any time, means having the status of a society registered or deemed to be registered under the Act at that time;

"the relevant year" means the period of 12 months ending on 31st December 1990;

"society" means a building society; and

"transfer of engagements" means a transfer of engagements under section 94 of the Act.

General charge in respect of the Commission's accounting year 1991-92

3.-(1) Each society which is authorised on the operative date shall pay, with respect to the accounting year 1991-92 a sum determined in accordance with paragraph (3) below.

(2) Any society which is authorised during the accounting year 1991-92 only after the operative date shall pay with respect to that year a sum determined in accordance with paragraph (3) below unless-

(a)a society was registered on the amalgamation of two or more societies, and

(b)at least one of those other societies was a society to which paragraph (1) above applied.

(3) The sum payable under paragraph (1) or (2) above (as the case may be) is-

(a)in the case of any society a financial year of which ended in the relevant year a sum equal to £1,000 plus the sum determined in accordance with paragraph (5) below using the value of the society's assets as shown in its balance sheet as at the end of that financial year.

(b)in the case of any society to which sub-paragraph (a) above does not apply and which was formed on the amalgamation of two or more societies, financial years of which ended in the relevant year a sum equal to £2,000 plus the sum determined in accordance with paragraph (5) below using the aggregate value of the assets of each of those societies as shown in their respective balance sheets as at the end of those respective financial years.

(c)in the case of any society to which neither sub-paragraph (a) nor sub-paragraph (b) above applies, a sum equal to £1,000 plus the sum determined in accordance with paragraph (5) below using the value of the society's assets at the date of authorisation.

(4) Where, after 31st December 1990 and before the operative date, a society has transferred its engagements to an authorised society under section 94 of the Act, the transferee society shall in addition to any sum payable by it by virtue of the foregoing provisions of this regulation by virtue of this paragraph pay, with respect to the accounting year 1991-92 any sum which would have been payable by the transferor society had it been an authorised society on the operative date.

(5) The sum determined in accordance with this paragraph is the sum

(i)determined by applying 0.00162 per cent to the relevant assets; or

(ii)where the relevant assets exceed £20,000 million, determined by adding the sums determined by applying 0.00162 per cent to the first £20,000 million of the relevant assets and applying 0.00081 per cent to the excess of the relevant assets over £20,000 million.

Payment of the general charge

4.-(1) Any sums payable under regulations 3(1) and (4) above by a society shall be paid on the 1st May 1991 or upon the earlier occurrence of a specified event but if no specified event has occurred before that date the society may pay one half of the said sum on that date and defer the other half until the 1st October 1991 or the earlier occurrence of a specified event.

(2) Any sum payable under regulation 3(2) above by a society shall be paid on or before the day one month after the date on which the society is first authorised or upon the earlier occurrence of a specified event.

(3) In this regulation "specified event" in relation to a society by which a sum is payable under regulation 3 above means the earliest of any date on which

(a)an instrument of dissolution of the society is first signed;

(b)the society resolves that it he wound up voluntarily or by the Court;

(c)a petition for the winding up of the society is presented.

Fees in respect of societies' public Files

5. Each society which-

(a)is registered on or after the operative date and before 1st April 1992 and

(b)is not in the course of dissolution or winding up on the operative date,

shall on the 1st May 1991, or in the case of a society first registered after the operative date, on applying for registration, pay a fee of £140 in respect of the Central Office's function under section 106 of the Act of maintaining the society's public file during the accounting year 1991-92.

Fees in respect of authorisation

6. A society which applies for authorisation under section 9 of the Act shall upon making such application pay a fee of £1,100 in respect of the exercise of the Commission's functions under that section.

Fees in respect of mergers of societies

7.-(1) Subject to paragraph (3) below, a society which proposes to merge with another society, and

(a)applies for consent under section 94(5) of the Act to proceed to undertake to fulfil the engagements of the other society pursuant to a board resolution, or

(b)applies for approval under paragraph 1 of Schedule 16 to the Act of the contents of a statement concerning matters relevant to the merger,

shall upon making such application pay a fee determined in accordance with paragraph (2) below in respect of the Commission's functions in relation to the application and any functions it may exercise subsequently under section 95 of the Act with respect to the proposed merger.

(2) The sum payable under paragraph (1) above shall be, where one of the societies concerned in the proposed merger is for the purposes of section 95 of the Act of disproportionate size to the other, £6,500 and in any other case £9,000 but a society which on making such application pays a fee of £3,500 in the case where one of the societies is of disproportionate size to the other, or £6,000 in any other case, shall not he required to pay the remaining £3,000 unless and until the Commission gives notice pursuant to paragraph 9(1)(b) of Schedule 16 to the Act to the society of its determination under paragraph 9(1)(a) of Schedule 16 to the Act.

(3) In any case where the Commission considers that the proposed merger would be expedient for the purpose of protecting the investments of the shareholders or depositors with any society proposing to amalgamate with another or transfer its engagements to another society, the Commission may in respect of the proposed merger waive payment of or reduce the fee payable by any or all of the societies concerned pursuant to paragraph (1) above by notifying any society in respect of which the fee is waived or reduced of such waiver or as the case may be of the reduced fee to be paid in respect of the society's application and where the fee is so reduced the sums payable on application and upon the notice referred to in paragraph (2) above shall be such as may be notified by the Commission to the society.

Fees in respect of transfers of business to commercial companies

8.-(1) Subject to paragraph (4) below a society which applies for approval of a transfer statement under paragraph 4(2) of Schedule 17 to the Act in connection with a proposed transfer of business shall upon making such application pay a fee of £180,000 in respect of the Commission's functions in relation to the application and any functions it may exercise subsequently under section 97 of the Act and the applicable provisions of the Act (as referred to in that section) with respect to the proposed transfer of business prior to an application pursuant to section 97(4)(d) of the Act.

(2) Subject to paragraphs (3) and (4) below a society which applies for confirmation of a proposed transfer of business and its terms pursuant to section 97(4)(d) of the Act shall upon making such application pay a fee of £70,000 in respect of the Commission's functions in relation to the application and any functions it may exercise subsequently under section 97 of the Act and the applicable provisions of the Act (as referred to in that section) with respect to the proposed transfer of business.

(3) A society which, on its application for confirmation of a proposed transfer of business and its terms as described in paragraph (2) above, pays a fee of £20,000 or of such amount as may have been notified to it by the Commission pursuant to paragraph (4) below in respect of that application shall not be required to pay the remaining £50,000, or, as the case may be, the balance of the reduced fee notified to it by the Commission pursuant to paragraph (4) below, unless and until the Commission gives notice pursuant to paragraph 8(1)(b) of Schedule 17 to the Act to the society of its determination under paragraph 8(1)(a) of that Schedule.

(4) In any case where the successor to which a society proposes to transfer its business is an existing company and the Commission considers that the proposed transfer would be expedient for the purpose of protecting the investments of the shareholders and depositors the Commission may waive payment of or reduce the fee payable pursuant respectively to paragraph (1) or (2) above by notifying the society of such waiver or as the case may be of the reduced fee to be paid in respect of approval of the transfer statement and confirmation of the transfer or either of them as the case may be and where the fee payable in respect of confirmation is reduced, the sums payable upon application and upon the notice referred to in paragraph (3) above shall be such as may be notified by the Commission to the society.

Fees in respect of particular Central Office functions

9. Any society which makes an application of a nature specified in Schedule 1 to these Regulations shall upon making such application pay the relevant fee specified in respect of the examination of the application by the Central Office.

Inspection and copying fees

10. Any person wishing to inspect or to be furnished with a copy of any document in the custody of the Central Office shall, at the time at which he makes the request to inspect or to he furnished with a copy, as the case may be, pay the relevant fee specified in Schedule 2 to these Regulations.

Revocation of regulations relating to preceding accounting year

11. The Building Societies (General Charge and Fees) Regulations 1990(1) are hereby revoked.

Regulation 9

SCHEDULE 1

Regulation 10

SCHEDULE 2

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations supersede the Building Societies (General Charge and Fees) Regulations 1990 ("the 1990 Regulations"), which are revoked. They provide for a general charge to be paid by authorised building societies towards the expenses of the Building Societies Commission. The charge is levied with respect to the Commission's accounting year beginning on 1st April 1991 and ending on 31st March 1992 and is expected to raise £3.2 million. Each society is required to pay a sum of £1,100 plus a sum equal to 0.00162% of its assets, up to £20,000 million, and 0.00081% of its assets above that amount, or in the case of a Society formed by a recent amalgamation, a sum of £2,00O plus a sum equal to the same percentage of the aggregated value of the uniting societies.

The Regulations also provide for fees to be paid by societies in respect of particular functions of the Building Societies Commission and the Central Office of the Registry of Friendly Societies under the Building Societies Act 1986, and fees to be paid by persons wishing to inspect or receive copies of documents in the custody of the Central Office. These fees are approximately 8% higher than those payable under the 1990 Regulations.

The fees in respect of functions related to merger of societies and transfer of a society's business to a commercial company have been increased to reflect the true cost of the service provided, but these regulations give power to the Commission to waive or reduce these fees where the Commission considers that the merger or transfer to an existing commercial company would be expedient to protect investments in the society.