(1) Section 9 of the Act of 1971 is hereby amended:
(a) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (1):
"(1A) The Bank shall not grant a licence under this section to a person applying for it unless that person satisfies the Bank that it is -
(a) a company, or
(b) a credit institution within the meaning of Council Directive 77/780/EEC of 12 December, 1977 [OJ No. L322, 17.12.1977, p. 30.], which has been duly authorised for the purposes of that Directive.";
(b) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (3):
"(3) Whenever the Bank proposes to refuse to grant a licence to a person -
(a) it shall -
(i) within the period of six months after the date of the receipt of the application for the licence, or
(ii) where additional information in relation to the application has been sought by the Bank, within the period of six months after the date of the receipt by the Bank of the additional information or the period of twelve months after the date of the r
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