The Building Societies (Funding) and Mutual Societies (Transfers) Act 2007 (sometimes referred to as the Butterfill Act) is an Act

Act of Parliament

An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...

 of the Parliament of the United Kingdom

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

. The Act gives building societies greater powers to merge with other companies.

Passage through Parliament

The Bill was introduced as a Private Members' Bill by Conservative

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

 Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 Sir John Butterfill

John Butterfill

Sir John Valentine Butterfill FRICS is a British politician. He was the Conservative Member of Parliament for Bournemouth West from 1983 until he stood down at the 2010 general election.-Early life:...

, originally titled the Financial Mutuals Arrangements Bill. It was also known as the Butterfill Bill.

Mergers under the Act

There have been several high profile mergers under the auspices of the Act.

In August 2009, Britannia Building Society

Britannia Building Society

The Britannia is a financial services institution and trading name of the Co-operative Bank Plc in the United Kingdom.Before the merger with the Co-operative, Britannia was a mutual building society, with headquarters in Leek, Staffordshire...

 merged with Co-operative Financial Services

Co-operative Financial Services

Co-operative Banking Group Limited, formerly Co-operative Financial Services, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Co-operative Group Ltd. in the United Kingdom...

 (part of the Co-operative Group). Britannia continues as a brand, but it is now owned by the Co-op.

In February 2011, Kent Reliance Building Society

Kent Reliance Building Society

Kent Reliance Banking service, also known as KRBS, was a building society based in Kent, England. Incorporating the Chatham Reliance , Dover District , Herne Bay and Kent & Canterbury , KRBS was the fastest growing building society in the UK between 2003 and 2008 and was a member of the Building...

 pooled its assets with American private equity bank J C Flowers. J C Flowers has a 40% interest in the new bank, named OneSavings Bank plc, with the other 60% in the hands of Kent Reliance Provident Society

Kent Reliance Provident Society

Kent Reliance Provident Society ' is an Industrial and Provident Society in the United Kingdom, it is also a member of Co-operatives UK. KRPS currently holds the majority of shares in OneSavings Bank Plc following the transfer of the Kent Reliance Building Society business to OneSavings Plc on 1...

, a mutual organisation owned by former Kent Reliance BS members. The bank trades as krbs.

External links

• The Building Societies (Funding) and Mutual Societies (Transfers) Act 2007, as amended from the National Archives.
• The Building Societies (Funding) and Mutual Societies (Transfers) Act 2007, as originally enacted from the National Archives.
• Explanatory notes to the Building Societies (Funding) and Mutual Societies (Transfers) Act 2007.