# Building Societies Act 1986

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Language: en

Published: 2026-10-30T19:35:28.283Z

Updated: 2026-10-30T19:35:28.283Z

The Building Societies Act 1986 (c. 53) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom governing building societies (mutually-owned mortgage-lending institutions). It removed certain restrictions on the range of services they could offer, so that they could compete with banks on a level basis: they could now make unsecured loans, offer cheque accounts, exchange currencies, provide sto

## Key facts

## Overview

The Building Societies Act 1986 (c. 53) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom governing building societies (mutually-owned mortgage-lending institutions). It removed certain restrictions on the range of services they could offer, so that they could compete with banks on a level basis: they could now make unsecured loans, offer cheque accounts, exchange currencies, provide stockbroking services, manage personal equity plans (tax-privileged investment accounts) and portfolios of unit trusts, arrange and advise on insurance, etc. A new regulatory agency, the Building Societies Commission, was set up to supervise the activities of the societies, which were allowed to de-mutualise and become public limited companies subject to the agreement of their depositors. This act and the Big Bang stock market reform, also in the UK, also in 1986, were the two central planks of the move to financial deregulation in the United Kingdom in the 1980s. The Financial Services Act 1986 was also part of that movement.

## Repealed enactments

Section 120(2) of the act repealed 22 enactments, listed in part I of schedule 19 to the act, revoked 1 instrument, listed in part II of schedule 19, and repealed and revoked 15 further enactments and instruments extending only to Northern Ireland, listed in part III of schedule 19 to the act.

## Building Societies Act 1986 (Amendment) Act 2024

Under the Building Societies Act 1986, building societies would have had to raise at least 50% of funds, with some qualifications, from customer savings. The Building Societies Act 1986 (Amendment) Act 2024 (c. 18) would amend this to exclude some types of funding held for liquidity purposes or accessed in stress scenarios, from this calculation. The Building Societies Act 1986 (Amendment) Act 2024 also amends the act to allow for meetings to be held through electronic means.

## See also

Building Societies Act

## External links

Text of the Building Societies Act 1986 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk. Text of the Building Societies Act 1986 as originally enacted or made within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

## Sources

- Building Societies Act 1986 · Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/?curid=30282004

Source: Wikipedia contributors — https://en.wikipedia.org/?curid=30282004&oldid=1382616288

Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Adaptation notice: Reformatted for XPay; the source may be abridged, restructured or translated. Consult the cited revision for the original.