Member

In responding to the concerns raised by the amendment, I note first that the Bank of England already has the power to require the demutualisation of a mutual firm when exercising its powers, if that is necessary to execute a resolution effectively in the public interest. The Bill does not change that. There are also circumstances in which demutualisation would not be necessary, such as the transfer of a mutual firm’s assets to another mutual acquirer. We saw that back in 2009, with the transfer of the Dunfermline building society’s assets to Nationwide. Indeed, if the Bank of England is seeking to resolve a failing building society, its assets may well prove an attractive acquisition for another mutual, so a sale within the mutual sector may already be a likely outcome under the existing regime, whether in resolution or in recovery in the period prior to resolution.