Introduction
Section 1: Meaning of “authorised UK deposit-taker”
10.This section defines the institutions whose securities or property, rights and liabilities may be transferred under the Act. Any UK undertaking which is authorised by the Financial Services Authority to accept deposits (principally banks and building societies2) is an authorised UK deposit-taker for the purposes of the Act. There is an exception for any undertaking, such as a broker, that is authorised to accept deposits only for the purposes of another activity. Deposit-takers which are not incorporated in, or formed under, UK law are not authorised UK deposit-takers for the purposes of the Act. The prudential supervision of those deposit-takers is a matter for their home state regulators and not for the UK authorities.
It also includes credit unions, but in practice it is extremely improbable that the purposes for exercise of the transfer powers set out in section 2 would ever be relevant to a credit union.