Central Bank Act, 1989.
|
Provisions in relation to books and records of holders of licences. |
36.—The Act of 1971 is hereby amended by the substitution of the following section for section 17: | |
“17.—(1) A holder of a licence shall keep at an office or offices within the State such books and records (including accounts) as may be specified from time to time by the Bank in the due discharge by the Bank of its statutory functions and shall notify the Bank of the address of every office at which any such book or record is kept for the purposes of this subsection. | ||
(2) Different books and records may be specified by the Bank for the purposes of this section in relation to different holders of licences. | ||
(3) (a) An appropriate person duly authorised in writing in that behalf by the Governor of the Bank (in this subsection referred to as ‘an authorised person’) may, for the purpose of the performance by the Bank of its statutory functions and upon production of his authorisation, at all reasonable times, inspect and take copies of or extracts from, and make such enquiries as he may consider necessary in relation to— | ||
(i) the books and records kept pursuant to this section by the holder of a licence, and | ||
(ii) any books of account relating to the said holder and kept under the Companies Act, 1963 , or under any enactment which is to be construed together as one with that Act, and | ||
(iii) any other documents relating to the business of the said holder, | ||
and for those purposes enter any office to which subsection (1) of this section relates and any other place where he reasonably believes any books, records or other documents as aforesaid are kept. | ||
(b) A person who has in his power, possession or procurement any books, records or other documents aforesaid shall— | ||
(i) produce them at the request of an authorised person and permit him to inspect and take copies of or extracts from them, | ||
(ii) at the request of an authorised person, give any information which may be reasonably required with regard to them, and | ||
(iii) give such other assistance and information to an authorised person as is reasonable in the circumstances. | ||
(c) The provisions of paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subsection shall apply to every holder of a licence and the provisions of those paragraphs, other than subparagraph (i) of paragraph (a), shall apply to— | ||
(i) every associated enterprise of the holder, and | ||
(ii) any other person, | ||
where an inspection of the books, records or other documents is, in the opinion of the Bank, materially relevant to the proper appraisal of the business of a holder of a licence during any period in respect of which an inspection or proposed inspection of the holder relates. | ||
(4) Books and records kept pursuant to this section shall— | ||
(a) be in addition to any books or other records to be kept by or under any other enactment, and | ||
(b) be retained for at least such period as the Bank may specify in respect of any such book or record. | ||
(5) Where any person from whom production of a book, record or other document is required claims a lien thereon, the production of it shall be without prejudice to the lien. | ||
(6) Nothing in this section shall compel the production by a barrister or solicitor of a book, record or other document containing a privileged communication made by him or to him in that capacity or the furnishing of information contained in a privileged communication so made. | ||
(7) (a) In this section— | ||
‘appropriate person’ means— | ||
(i) an officer of the Bank, or | ||
(ii) in relation to any particular inspection (including a proposed inspection), any other person who in the opinion of the Governor of the Bank possesses appropriate qualifications or experience to carry out the inspection, or any part thereof, to which this section relates; | ||
‘associated enterprise’ means (where appropriate)— | ||
(i) a holding company of the holder of a licence, | ||
(ii) a subsidiary company of the holder of a licence, | ||
(iii) a company which is a subsidiary of a body corporate, where the holder of the licence concerned is also a subsidiary of the body corporate, but neither company is a subsidiary of the other, | ||
(iv) where a company is the holder of a licence, any other body corporate that is not a subsidiary of the company but in respect of which the company is beneficially entitled to more than 20 per cent. in nominal value of either the allotted share capital or of the shares carrying voting rights (other than voting rights which arise only in specified circumstances) in that other body corporate, | ||
(v) a partnership in which the holder of a licence has an interest, and whose business is or, at the relevant time, was, in the opinion of the Bank, materially relevant to any inspection of the holder being carried out or proposed to be carried out under this section; | ||
‘holding company’ has the meaning given to it by section 155 of the Companies Act, 1963 ; | ||
‘statutory functions’, in relation to the Bank, means its functions— | ||
(i) under the Central Bank Acts, 1942 to 1989, and any other enactment amending those Acts, or | ||
(ii) imposed by virtue of the European Communities (Consolidated Supervision of Banks) Regulations, 1985 (S.I. No. 302 of 1985), and Council Directive No. 85/354/EEC (1) of 13 June, 1983; | ||
‘subsidiary company’ has the meaning given to it by section 155 of the Companies Act, 1963 . | ||
(b) References in this section to books, records or other documents, or to any of them, shall be construed as including any document or information kept in a non-legible form (by the use of electronics or otherwise) which is capable of being reproduced in a legible form and all the electronic or other automatic means, if any, by which such document or information is so capable of being reproduced to which the person, whose books, records or other documents (as so construed) are inspected for the purposes of this section, has access.”. | ||