(1)A “reclaim fund” is a company the objects of which are restricted by its articles of association to the following—
(a)the meeting of repayment claims;
(b)the management of dormant account funds in such a way as to enable the company to meet whatever repayment claims it is prudent to anticipate;
(c)the transfer of money to the body or bodies for the time being specified in section 16(1), subject to the need for the company—
(i)to have access at any given time to enough money to meet whatever repayment claims it is prudent to anticipate,
(ii)to comply with any requirement with regard to its financial resources that is imposed on it by or under any enactment, and
(iii)to defray its expenses;
(d)objects that are incidental or conducive to, or otherwise connected with, any of the above (including in particular the prudent investment of dormant account funds).
(2)Schedule 1 makes further provision about provision that must be made in the articles of association of a reclaim fund.
(3)An alteration by a reclaim fund of its articles of association is ineffective if it would result in—
(a)the company ceasing to have objects restricted to those mentioned in subsection (1);
(b)the company’s articles of association not containing any provision that they are required to make under Schedule 1.
(4)The Treasury may give a direction to a reclaim fund requiring it—
(a)to give effect to any specified object that it has, or
(b)to comply with any specified obligation or prohibition imposed on it by a provision that its articles of association are required to make under Schedule 1.
“Specified” means specified in the direction.
(5)The Treasury shall lay before Parliament a copy of any direction given under subsection (4).
(6)In this section—
“company” has the meaning given by section 1(1) of the Companies Act 2006 (c. 46);
“dormant account funds” means money paid to a reclaim fund by banks and by building societies in respect of dormant accounts;
“repayment claims” means claims made by virtue of section 1(2)(b) or 2(2)(b).