The object of this Bill is to amend the Bankers' Books Evidence Act, 1879, in certain respects with regard to which attention has been called to the need for amendment by the Irish Banks Standing Committee and in the report of the Committee on Company Law Reform.
To come within the provisions of the Act of 1879 a bank must either comply with the definition of "bank" and "banker" in Section 9 of that Act or comply with the provisions of Section 11 of the Revenue Friendly Societies and National Debt Act, 1882.
To fulfil these requirements a bank must either have duly made a return to the Revenue Commissioners pursuant to the provisions of Section 22 of the Bankers (Ireland) Act, 1845, or else have duly furnished to the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies a list and summary as required by the second part of the Companies Act, 1862, with the addition of a statement showing the places where it carries on business. The list referred to is that required by Section 26 of the Companies Act, 1862 (which has been repealed and reenacted by Section 26 of the Companies (Consolidation) Act, 1908) and is a list of members with a summary of the share capital and balance sheet.
Section 22 of the Bankers (Ireland) Act, 1845, expressly absolved the Bank of Ireland from the obligation of making a return thereunder and, since it is not a Joint Stock Company, it has always been excluded from the privileges of the Bankers' Books Evidence Act. This was never intended and is due to the fact that the special position of the Bank of Ireland was overlooked when the provisions of Section 9 of the Act of 1879 were being framed. The other banks, that is to say, those which were in existence in 1882 and are still in business were, to begin with, all entitled to the benefits of the Act of 1879 as they were in a position to fulfil one or other of the requirements of the statutory definition.
However, on the establishment of the State doubts arose as to whether the provisions of the Bankers' Books Evidence Act continued to apply to banks registered in England and Northern Ireland. These banks no longer furnish the requisite list and summary under the Companies (Consolidation) Act, 1908, which has been repealed in England and Northern Ireland, and have been relieved by subsection (6) of Section 42 of the Currency Act, 1927, from making the return required by Section 22 of the Bankers (Ireland) Act, 1845.
The advice I have got is that the Act does not now apply to such banks, including such well-known banks as the National Bank, the Northern Bank, the Provincial Bank of Ireland and the Ulster Bank. Thus, under the law as it stands, no fewer than five of the principal banks carrying on business here, including the Bank of Ireland, are outside the scope of the Bankers' Books Evidence Act.
It is primarily to put this right that this Bill has been introduced but advantage is being taken of the opportunity to simplify proofs by specifying by name the eight banks mentioned in the Third Schedule of the Central Bank Act, 1942, the Post Office Savings Bank and the Trustee Savings Banks. This will obviate the necessity for proving that the banks specified are banks to which the Bill applies. A new interpretation is being given to the expression "bankers' books" which takes account of modern methods of record keeping and of the fact that the old fashioned books and ledgers have been largely dispensed with in the banking business and replaced by loose-leaf filing systems and cards. The statutory enactments which it is proposed to repeal will be rendered obsolete by the enactment of the Bill.
The Bankers' Books Evidence Act, 1879, was designed to relieve bankers from the great inconvenience of having to attend Court and bring with them the books in daily use in their business. To this extent it is an Act for the relief of bankers, but it is also an Act for the benefit of suitors since it enables copies of entries in a banker's book to be given in evidence and facilitates the procuring of such evidence by allowing any party to a legal proceeding to apply to the Court for permission to inspect and to take copies of such entries for the purpose of such proceeding. The object of the Bill is to make the Act work in the way it was intended to work and I commend it to the consideration of the House.
