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32 1927

CURRENCY ACT, 1927

PART VI.

Consolidated Bank Notes.

Provision of consolidated bank notes.

51. —(1) It shall be lawful for the Commission to provide and issue to the Shareholding Banks in accordance with this Act bank notes to be known and in this Act referred to as “consolidated bank notes.

(2) Every consolidated bank note shall be of one of the following denominations that is to say one pound, five pounds, ten pounds, twenty pounds, fifty pounds, and one hundred pounds.

(3) Every consolidated bank note shall be of such form, size, and design, and printed in such manner and on such paper and be numbered and authenticated in such manner as the Commission shall prescribe.

(4) Consolidated bank notes shall be deemed to be bank notes within the meaning of the Forgery Act, 1913, and any other enactment relating to offences in respect of bank notes for the time being in force in Saorstát Eireann and to be valuable securi- ties within the meaning of the Larceny Act, 1861, the Larceny Act, 1916, and any other law relating to stealing which is for the time being in force in Saorstát Eireann.

Issue of consolidated bank notes.

52. —(1) Subject to the limitations and conditions specified in this Act and to compliance with the provisions of this section, the Commission may issue to any Shareholding Bank such amount of consolidated bank notes in such denominations authorised by this Act as such Bank shall from time to time apply for.

(2) The total amount of the consolidated bank notes at any time outstanding (otherwise than on an extraordinary issue) with a Shareholding Bank shall not exceed the total amount of the liquid sound advances by such Bank to persons in Saorstát Eireann proved to the satisfaction of the Commission to exist at that time.

(3) Proof for the purposes of the foregoing sub-section of the existence of liquid sound advances by a Shareholding Bank to persons in Saorstát Eireann shall be given by such Bank to the Commission in such manner as the Commission shall direct or allow and for the purposes of such proof the Chairman or a permanent officer of the Commission specially authorised in that behalf in writing by the Chairman may inspect the relevant books and documents of such Bank.

(4) The Commission may require any Shareholding Bank to give to the Commission security to such amount as the Commission shall direct for consolidated bank notes theretofore or thereafter issued to such Bank by the transfer (by way of security only and not absolutely) to the Commission of assets of such Bank acceptable to the Commission or by such charge in favour of the Commission on such assets of such Bank as shall be acceptable to the Commission.

(5) The taking of security by the Commission from a Shareholding Bank under this section in respect of consolidated bank notes issued to such Bank shall not prejudice or affect the liability under this Act of such Bank in respect of such consolidated bank notes nor the rights under this Act of the Commission in respect of such consolidated bank notes nor of the holder of any such note.

(6) References in this Act to consolidated bank notes outstanding with a Shareholding Bank shall be construed as referring to and including all consolidated bank notes which at the time to which the reference relates have been issued by the Commission to that Shareholding Bank and have not been returned to the Commission for retirement.

Limit of amount of consolidated bank notes.

53. —(1) In this Part of this Act—

the expression “maximum limit” means the maximum amount of consolidated bank notes which may under this Act be outstanding otherwise than on an extraordinary issue made under this Act at the time in reference to which the expression is used and the expression “initial period” means the period of two years from the 31st day of March or the 30th day of September, whichever first occurs next after the day appointed under this Act for the commencement of the issue of consolidated bank notes.

(2) The Commission shall take such steps, by restriction of issue or otherwise as it thinks fit, to ensure that the amount of consolidated bank notes outstanding at any one time exclusive of consolidated bank notes outstanding at any one time exclusive of consolidated bank notes outstanding on an extraordinary issue made under this Act does not exceed the amount appointed by or under this section to be the maximum limit for that time.

(3) Save as is otherwise provided in this section, the maximum limit during the initial period shall be six million pounds.

(4) At or within one month before the expiration of the initial period and of every period of three years thereafter, the Commission shall consider the maximum limit and may, on such consideration at or before the expiration of the initial period by unanimous vote and, on such consideration at or before the expiration of any triennial period by majority vote fix the maximum limit at such amount as it considers proper having regard to the total amount of liquid sound advances by Shareholding Banks to persons in Saorstát Eireann then existing, and other assets and liabilities of the Shareholding Banks, and such other matters as it considers relevant, and if the Commission on the occasion of any such consideration so fixes the maximum limit, the same shall be the maximum limit for the ensuing triennial period, and if at or before the expiration of the initial period the Commission does not so fix the maximum limit the maximum limit for the first triennial period shall be six million pounds and if at or before the expiration of any triennial period the Commission does not so fix the maximum limit the maximum limit for the then ensuing triennial period shall be the same as the maximum limit for the then expiring triennial period.

(5) If the average amount of legal tender notes outstanding during any half-year which expires during the initial period is not less than six million pounds the Commission by a vote of not less than five of its members may, if it so thinks fit, fix the maximum limit at such amount as it considers proper having regard to the total amount of liquid sound advances by Shareholding Banks to persons in Saorstát Eireann then existing and such other matters as it considers relevant and if and whenever the maximum limit is so fixed the same shall be and continue to be the maximum limit until the expiration of the initial period or the fixing of a maximum limit under the next following sub-section whichever shall first happen.

(6) If the average amount of legal tender notes outstanding during any half-year together with the average amount of gold coins which are for the time being legal tender under this Act in Saorstát Eireann for unlimited amounts estimated by the Commission to have been in circulation or held by bankers in Saorstát Eireann during such half-year does not exceed four million pounds the Commission may, if it so thinks fit, during the ensuing half-year fix the maximum limit at the sum of one million pounds in excess of the aggregate of the said average amounts and if and whenever the maximum limit is so fixed the same shall notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this section be and continue to be the maximum limit until the Commission fixes under the next following sub-section some other maximum limit.

(7) Whenever the Commission has fixed a maximum limit under the foregoing sub-section, the Commission may at any time thereafter remove such maximum limit and if such maximum limit is so removed during the initial period the Commission shall forth with fix the maximum limit at six million pounds and if such first-mentioned maximum limit is so removed after the expiration of the initial period the Commission shall forthwith fix the maximum limit at such amount as it considers proper having regard to the total amount of liquid sound advances by Shareholding Banks to persons in Saorstát Eireann then existing and other assets and liabilities of the Shareholding Banks and such other matters as it considers relevant, and whenever the Commission fixes a maximum limit under this sub-section such maximum limit shall be and continue to be the maximum limit during the residue of the initial period or the triennal period (as the case may be) then current.

(8) The Commission shall not at any time fix the maximum limit at a sum exceeding six million pounds without the previous consent of the Minister.

(9) If the period commencing on the day appointed under this Act for the commencement of the issue of consolidated bank notes and ending on the next ensuing 31st day of March or 30th day of September, whichever first occurs, exceeds three months such period shall for the purpose of this section be deemed to be a half-year, and if such period does not exceed three months such period and the next ensuing half-year shall for the purpose of this section be deemed to form together one half-year.

Allotment of consolidated bank notes amongst Shareholding Banks.

54. —(1) The Commission shall take such steps as it thinks proper to ensure that the amount of consolidated bank notes outstanding with any particular Shareholding Bank at any one time otherwise than on an extraordinary issue does not exceed the quota or proportion of the maximum limit at that time assigned to such Bank under this section.

(2) If and so long as no Bank other than the Banks named in the Third Schedule to this Act is a Shareholding Bank and whether all or some only of such Banks are Shareholding Banks the quota of each Shareholding Bank shall, unless and until otherwise provided under this section, be the proportion which the sum set out in the said Third Schedule opposite to the name of such Bank bears to the sum of six million pounds.

(3) At or within one month before the expiration of the initial period and the expiration of every period of three years thereafter the Commission shall consider the quotas of the several Shareholding Banks and may vary the amounts of all or any of such quotas (including the fixing of the quota of a Bank which has become a Shareholding Bank during the then expiring initial or triennial period and the distribution of the quota formerly belonging to a Bank which has during such initial or triennial period ceased to be a Shareholding Bank) in such manner as the Commission may think proper having regard to the relative volume of the liquid sound advances of each Shareholding Bank and to any amalgamation, partition, transfer, or other change which may have occurred amongst the Shareholding Banks, and such other matters as it considers relevant, and the quota which is on any such occasion fixed by the Commission for any Shareholding Bank shall be the quota of such Bank during the ensuing triennial period and if on any such occasion the quota of any Shareholding Bank is not varied by the Commission, the quota of such Bank during the ensuing triennial period shall be the same as its quota during the preceding initial or triennial period.

(4) Whenever after the establishment of the Commission a Bank becomes a Shareholding Bank no consolidated bank notes shall be issued to such Bank during the residue of the initial or triennial period then current.

(5) Whenever any amalgamation, partition, transfer, or other change occurs amongst the Shareholding Banks the Commission shall make such (if any) adjustment of the quotas of the Banks concerned in or affected by such change as in the opinion of the Commission the circumstances require.

Extraordinary issues of consolidated bank notes.

55. —Whenever a Shareholding Bank is for any reason temporarily unable to comply with the provisions of this Act in relation to the issue to it of consolidated bank notes or the having such notes outstanding and also whenever a Shareholding Bank has outstanding the whole of its quota and temporarily requires a further issue of consolidated bank notes, the Commission may if it so thinks fit by unanimous vote and with the consent of the Minister make to such Bank an extraordinary issue of consolidated bank notes but such extraordinary issue shall be subject to the conditions imposed in regard thereto by this Act and also to the condition that the Commission may in addition to its powers under any other section of this Act, require such bank to give or provide to the Commission such security as the Commission shall direct and also to the limitations that such extraordinary issue shall not continue for more than twelve months and may be terminated by the Commission at any time during such twelve months and that the amount of consolidated bank notes outstanding at any one time on such extraordinary issue shall not exceed the amount at that time of the accumulated profits in excess of capital of such Bank.

Limit on issue of consolidated bank notes to particular banks.

56. —(1) In the case of a Shareholding Bank which under the law of any place outside Saorstát Eireann is entitled to issue bank notes in that place, the Commission shall, notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, take such steps as it thinks proper to ensure that the amount of consolidated bank notes outstanding with such Bank (otherwise than by virtue of an extraordinary issue) at any one time together with the amount of the bank notes of such Bank issued in such place outside Saorstát Eireann which are estimated by the Commission to be in circulation at that time on a fiduciary basis shall not form an excessive proportion in the opinion of the Commission of the total amount of the advances made (whether in or outside Saorstát Eireann) at that time by such Bank to its customers.

(2) Any abatement under this section during the course of the initial or triennial period of the amount of consolidated bank notes which may be outstanding with such Bank (otherwise than by virtue of an extraordinary issue) shall be effected only by unanimous vote of the Commission but no ordinary Commissioner shall vote on or otherwise take part in proceedings under this section in relation to a Bank of which he is a director or by which he is employed.

Retirement and cancellation of consolidated bank notes.

57. —The Commission shall make by regulation or otherwise such arrangements as it thinks proper for the retirement by Shareholding Banks of consolidated bank notes issued to them under this Act (including the retirement of any such notes which have become worn or damaged and the issue of new notes in lieu thereof) and for the cancellation and destruction by or on behalf of the Commission of such retired consolidated bank notes as it does not think proper to preserve for re-issue.

Responsibility of Shareholding Banks for payment of consolidated bank notes.

58. —(1) Every consolidated bank note shall have printed thereon the name of the Shareholding Bank to which such note is issued by the Commission and in this section the expression “responsible Bank” means the Shareholding Bank whose name is so printed on the consolidated bank note in relation to which the expression is used.

(2) Save as authorised by the Commission under this section no Shareholding Bank shall pay out to any person (other than the responsible Bank) any consolidated bank note in respect of which it is not itself the responsible Bank.

(3) The Commission by general regulation or particular direction may, if special circumstances appear to the Commission to render such course expedient, by unanimous vote authorise a Shareholding Bank to pay out consolidated bank notes in respect of which it is not itself the responsible bank during such period, to such extent and subject to such conditions as the Commission thinks fit.

(4) The amount of every consolidated bank note shall be payable by the responsible Bank on presentation at its principal office in Dublin on any day which is not a Sunday or a Bank holiday and during the time for which such Bank is ordinarily open for business on such day, and such amount shall be so payable in coins or notes (at the option of such Bank) which are at the time of such presentation legal tender in Saorstát Eireann for such amount.

(5) Whenever the responsible Bank fails to pay in accordance with the foregoing sub-section a consolidated bank note duly presented to it in accordance with that sub-section, the holder of such note may either—

(a) recover the amount of such note from the responsible Bank by action in any Court of competent jurisdiction or, in the event of such Bank going into liquida- tion, prove in such liquidation for the amount of such note, or

(b) present such note to the Commission at its principal office in Dublin together with such evidence as the Commission may require of the due presentation of such note to the responsible Bank and the failure of such Bank to pay the amount thereof.

(6) Whenever a consolidated bank note is presented under this section to the Commission, the Commission shall receive such note and shall recover the amount thereof from the responsible Bank by action, claim, or proof on such note (for which purpose the Commission shall be deemed to be the holder of the note) or by resort to and enforcement of the security held by it from the responsible Bank.

(7) Whenever a consolidated bank note is duly presented to the Commission under the foregoing sub-section the Commission shall, as its own option, either—

(a) pay to the person who presented such note or his legal representative all moneys recovered from the responsible Bank by the Commission on foot of such note and, if such moneys are less than the amount of such note, pay the deficiency to such person or his legal representative out of the note reserve fund, or

(b) as soon as may be convenient after the presentation of such note, pay to such person or his legal representative the amount of such note out of the note reserve fund and pay all moneys recovered from the responsible Bank on foot of such note into the note reserve fund.

All moneys paid out of the note reserve fund under this sub-section by the Commission to a person or the legal representative of a person who presented a consolidated bank note shall bear interest payable by the responsible Bank to the Commission at such rate as the Commission shall appoint and recoverable by the Commission from such Bank as a civil debt.

(8) Every Shareholding Bank shall be liable and responsible to the holder of a consolidated bank note in respect of which such Bank is the responsible Bank for the amount of such note and such amount may be recovered by such holder from such Bank by process of law.

(9) For the purposes of section 6 of the Bank of Ireland Act 1821, section 2 of the Bankers (Ireland) Act 1825, and section 1 of the Bankers (Ireland) Act, 1845, every consolidated bank note shall be the note of and be deemed to have been issued by the Shareholding Bank (unless such Bank is the Bank of Ireland) which is under this section the responsible Bank in respect of such note and accordingly every shareholder and stockholder of such Bank shall be liable and responsible for the due payment of such note, but this sub-section shall not apply to the Bank of Ireland.

(10) For the purposes of section 20 of the Act of the Irish Parliament entitled “An Act for establishing a bank by the name of the Governors and Company of the Bank of Ireland” and passed in the year 1781-82, the amount of every consolidated bank note in respect of which the Bank of Ireland is the responsible Bank shall be a debt due by the said Bank to the holder of such note, and the said section shall apply accordingly.

(11) For the purposes of section 251 of the Companies (Consolidation) Act, 1908 every Shareholding Bank shall be a “bank of issue” and every consolidated bank note in respect of which such Bank is the responsible Bank shall be a note of such Bank, and the said section shall apply accordingly.

(12) In this section the expression “Shareholding Bank” includes a bank which has ceased to be a Shareholding Bank but with which consolidated bank notes remain outstanding and not covered by a deposit of Saorstát gold coins or legal tender notes with the Commission in accordance with this Act.

Consolidated bank notes of Bank which ceases to be a Shareholding Bank.

59. —Whenever a Shareholding Bank ceases to be a Shareholding Bank it shall within six months after such cesser deposit with the Commission such amount of Saorstát gold coins which are legal tender under this Act for unlimited amounts or of legal tender notes as shall be equal to the amount of consolidated bank notes outstanding with it at the time of such deposit and thereupon—

(a) such Bank shall cease to be liable to pay the amount of any such consolidated bank note or to pay any payment on consolidated bank notes in respect of any such note for any period subsequent to such deposit, and

(b) the Commission shall surrender to such Bank all securities then held by it from such Bank in respect of such consolidated bank notes, and

(c) all such consolidated bank notes shall be payable by the Commission on presentation at its principal office in Dublin and the amount so deposited by such Bank with the Commission shall be held by the Commission in trust to provide the moneys for so paying such consolidated bank notes, and

(d) such consolidated bank notes shall not for any purpose relating to the maximum limit or to the quota of any Shareholding Bank, be reckoned as consolidated bank notes outstanding.

Prohibition of bank notes other than consolidated bank notes.

60. —(1) When and so soon as the Commission is in a position to issue consolidated bank notes the Commission shall by notice in writing sent to every Shareholding Bank and published in the Iris Oifigiúil appoint a day (in this section referred to as the appointed day) on which it will commence the issue of consolidated bank notes in accordance with this Act and the day so appointed shall not be less than fourteen days after the sending and publication of the said notice and shall not be earlier than the day appointed under this Act for the commencement of the issue of legal tender notes.

(2) On and after the appointed day it shall not be lawful for any bank whether it is or is not a Shareholding Bank to issue or pay out, save as authorised by the Commission under this section, any bank notes other than consolidated bank notes and if any bank shall issue or pay out any bank note in contravention of this section such bank shall be liable to pay to the Commission a sum equal to one-tenth of the amount of such note.

(3) The Commission may in its absolute discretion authorise by general regulation or particular direction any bank to issue and pay out or to pay out after the appointed day such bank notes (other than consolidated bank notes) during such period, to such extent, and subject to such conditions as the Commission thinks fit and the Commission shall make regulations under this sub-section for the purpose of enabling reasonable facilities to be given by banks to persons about to travel out of Saorstát Eireann for obtaining bank notes other than consolidated bank notes.

(4) The Commission shall determine, in such manner as it thinks fit, in respect of every Bank which is at the passing of this Act a bank of issue the proportion of the notes of such Bank outstanding (including notes in the tills or vaults of such Bank) immediately before the appointed day which appertains to Saorstát Eireann and such proportion of such notes shall on or as soon as may be after the appointed day be redeemed cancelled and destroyed in such manner as the Commission shall direct and in the case of a first Shareholding Bank so much of such proportion as is for the time being not so redeemed shall for the purpose of payments on consolidated bank notes by such Bank and for the purpose of the issue of consolidated bank notes to such Bank be deemed up to one half of the quota of such Bank to be consolidated bank notes outstanding with such Bank otherwise than on an extraordinary issue.

(5) Every sum payable to the Commission by a bank under this section shall be recoverable by the Commission as a civil debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.