HM Treasury News Release
88/97                                             23 July 1997
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                 FUTURE OF MUTUALS SUPERVISION


The supervision and registration of Building Societies,
Friendly Societies, Credit Unions, and Industrial and
Provident Societies will transfer to the new regulatory
organisation for financial services, Helen Liddell, Economic
Secretary announced today.

The transfer will take place once the new financial services
legislation is enacted. The legislation will establish the
single regulator for financial services. It will bring under
one roof also, regulation currently undertaken by the
Securities and Investments Board (SIB) and the Self Regulating
Organisations (SROs), banking and insurance.

In reply to a written Parliamentary Question from Stephen
Timms MP [East Ham], Mrs Liddell said:

     "My Rt Hon Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer,
announced on 20 May that the Government will bring forward
legislation to reform the structure of financial regulation
and to create a single, enhanced financial services regulatory
body. The legislation to establish this regulatory body, will
provide   for the transfer to the new body of all the
functions currently carried out by the  Building Societies
Commission, the Friendly Societies Commission and the  Central
Office of the Registry of Friendly Societies. These
arrangements will further enhance the existing high standards
of supervision and regulation in this area by integrating it
with regulation of all financial sectors, including banking,
insurance, and other financial services. "

The Department of Trade and Industry also announced today that
responsibility for insurance regulation is transferring to the
Treasury and that insurance supervision will, in due course,
transfer to the enhanced SIB.

The Economic Secretary, Helen Liddell, will assume Ministerial
responsibility for insurance regulation.






NOTES TO EDITORS

1.   The Bank of England Bill, which will transfer banking
supervision from the Bank of England to the enhanced SIB, will
be introduced to Parliament after the summer recess.

2.   A draft of the Financial Services Bill, to transfer the
responsibilities of the Self Regulating Organisations,
responsibility for the prudential supervision of insurance
companies and responsibilities for the supervision and
registration of Building Societies, Friendly Societies, Credit
Unions and Industrial and Provident Societies, is expected to
be published for consultation in the summer of 1998.

3.   For further information on the transfer of insurance
regulation, please contact the Department of Trade and
Industry Press Office on 0171 215 5971.

4.   If you have access to the Internet you can find this
information at "http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk". Material on
other Treasury matters can also be found at this address.