For article 4 of the Building Societies (Limited Credit Facilities) Order 19873 and article 4 of the Building Societies (Money Transmission Services) Order 1989 (which specify the societies to which the relevant powers are available) there shall be substituted the following—

“4.

(1)

The powers conferred by this Order are available to a building society only while it has a qualifying asset holding or is treated as having one under paragraph (2) below, but if they cease to be available the society does not have to dispose of any property or rights.

(2)

For the purposes of paragraph (1) above a society is treated as having a qualifying asset holding if it is a successor to two or more societies which have amalgamated, at least one of which had a qualifying asset holding immediately before the specified date referred to in section 93(3)(b) of the Act, and the amalgamated society does not have a qualifying asset holding by reason only of not having the annual accounts referred to in section 118(2) of the Act.”.

For paragraph 2(d) of Section A of Part III of Schedule 1 to the Building Societies (Commercial Assets and Services) Order 19884 (definition of “leasable chattels”) there shall be substituted the following—

“(d)

“leasable chattels”, in relation to a society, means chattels the property in which is vested in the society which are, or are to be, subject to bailment in return for periodical payments under an agreement which may but need not contain provision (or be part of a series of agreements containing provision) for the property in those chattels to become vested in the bailee.”.

For paragraph 1 of Section B of that Part of that Schedule (societies to which power available) there shall be substituted the following—

“1.

(1)

The powers conferred by this Part of this Schedule are available to a building society only while it has a qualifying asset holding or is treated as having one under sub-paragraph (2) below, but if they cease to be available the society does not have to dispose of any property or rights.

(2)

For the purposes of sub-paragraph (1) above a society is treated as having a qualifying asset holding if it is a successor to two or more societies which have amalgamated, at least one of which had a qualifying asset holding immediately before the specified date referred to in section 93(3)(b) of the Act, and the amalgamated society does not have a qualifying asset holding by reason only of not having the annual accounts referred to in section 118(2) of the Act.”.