Building Societies Act 1986
The Building Societies Act 1986 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom governing building societies (mutually-owned mortgage-lending institutions).[1] It removed certain restrictions on the range of services they could offer, so that they could compete with banks on a level basis: they could now make unsecured loans, offer cheque accounts, exchange currencies, provide stockbroking services, manage personal equity plans (tax-privileged investment accounts) and portfolios of unit trusts, arrange and advise on insurance, etc.[2] A new regulatory agency, the Building Societies Commission, was set up to supervise the activities of the societies, which were allowed to de-mutualise and become public limited companies subject to the agreement of their depositors.
| Act of Parliament | |
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| Long title | An Act to make fresh provision with respect to building societies and further provision with respect to conveyancing services. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 1986 c. 53 |
| Territorial extent | United Kingdom |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 25 July 1986 |
Status: Amended | |
| Text of the Building Societies Act 1986 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk. | |
This Act and the Big Bang stockmarket reform, also in the UK, also in 1986, were the two central planks of the move to financial deregulation in the United Kingdom in the 1980s. The Financial Services Act 1986 was also part of that movement.
See also
References
- Law, Jonathan, ed. (2018). A dictionary of finance and banking. ISBN 978-0-19-878974-1. OCLC 1031029712.
- Boddy, Martin (April 1989). "Financial deregulation and UK housing finance: Government‐building society relations and the building societies act, 1986". Housing Studies. 4 (2): 92–104. doi:10.1080/02673038908720647. ISSN 0267-3037.