I'm Ian Burns, the Independent Valuer for the purposes of the arrangements put in place in relation to the resolution of Dunfermline Building Society.
I was appointed earlier this year under the Compensation Order laid before parliament as part of the relevant legislation concerning the transfer of ownership of the Dunfermline Building Society in March 2009.
I am assisted in my work by:
- My valuation team at Smith & Williamson
- Fenchurch Advisory Partners, the independent corporate finance advisory business providing specialist investment banking advice to the financial services sector, and
- My legal advisors, the international law firm Simmons and Simmons, and my Scottish lawyers Brodies LLP.
My functions as valuer are described in detail in the Overview of my Functions as Independent Valuer document in the Downloads section. In summary, however, my role is to:
- determine the amount of compensation, if any, payable to persons whose rights have been affected by the Transfer Order
- assess the amount the Financial Services Compensation Scheme would have been likely to have recovered from Dunfermline Building Society in insolvency;
- consider whether any costs incurred by the Bank of England or the Treasury in relation to, or in consequence of, the transfer, incorporation, authorisation, operation, sale or winding up of the Bridge Bank and to inform the Treasury whether, in my opinion, the costs were reasonably and properly incurred for the above purposes.
If you believe you have been affected by the Transfer Order, then please write to me at the address provided in the Contact section before 31 May 2010.
I am happy to take your questions and comments in writing or via this site. I will make sure that the frequently asked questions section of this website is regularly updated, so please feel free to check that page for more information.
I will communicate regularly with interested parties via this site, which I will update with details of the progress of my work as it evolves.