On 16 December 2024, the Building Societies Act 1986 (Modifications) Order 2024 was made and published on legislation.gov.uk, along with an explanatory memorandum.
The Order amends:
- Sections 60 and 61 of the Building Societies Act 1986 to remove all references to the normal retirement age or the compulsory retirement age for directors, as stated in the 1986 Act.
- Section 80(1) of the 1986 Act so that the current requirement for the balance sheet of a building society to be signed by two directors and the CEO is changed to allow one director to sign the balance sheet on behalf of the board. This is intended to modernise the 1986 Act, aligning the provisions with section 414(1) of the Companies Act 2006 to reduce a small but unnecessary burden for building societies, providing building societies with the equivalent accounts sign-off procedures as companies have.
The Order comes into force on 6 January 2025.