Unjustified Fees
The charging of “broker” or “policy” fees (section 8(5) fees) in the Short-term industry appears to be a common occurrence. The Regulator frowns upon unjustified fees, and it will be addressed under RDR. […]
Industry News
Sole Proprietors: Did you Know?
Those who remember the good old days of Chappies bubblegum might like to chew on these extracts from an interesting document published on the FSB website: There is no legal distinction between the […]
Addressing Unintended Consequences
The financial services industry faces massive changes which need to be managed very carefully to avoid disruptions which it may never recover from. The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI) recently […]
Retirement Fund Contribution Update
Some sweeping changes will take effect from 1 March 2016. The Taxation Laws Amendment Act No. 25 of 2015 that was published in Government Gazette No. 39588 on 8 January 2016 confirms the changes to the tax […]
Healthcare Commission Increase
The Council for Medical Schemes announced a 9.6% increase in the maximum commission payable to registered healthcare brokers. This puts them on par with government employees who also receive increases way above the […]
FSP Contractual Obligations
Employers will have to ensure that they have all their ducks in a row once the Financial Sector Regulation Bill is passed. There are two aspects, in particular, where the new legislation will […]
RDR Update on Short-term Insurance
Theme 4 of the recently published RDR General Status Update by the FSB expands on items discussed in the RDR Phase 1 Status Update document, published a few weeks earlier. Key stakeholder feedback and […]
Good BYA PAIA in the SKYA
The Promotion of Access to Information Act came into being in the year of our Lord 2000. When it was eventually discovered that virtually every person in South Africa, including the informal street […]
FAIS Ombud Settlements
Whilst Ombud determinations receive fairly wide coverage, the same does not apply to cases where a settlement is reached between the complainant and the respondent. We extracted the cases discussed in the FAIS […]
PAIA Manual Deadline Looming
The Promotion of Access to Information Act 2000 requires all public and private bodies to compile manuals that must contain information which is to be made available in certain circumstances. A copy of […]
Professionalising Financial Advice
The Minister of Finance intends introducing the Insurance Bill, 2015 in the National Assembly shortly. The Bill seeks to promote the maintenance of a fair, safe and stable insurance market by establishing a […]
Enforcement Action against Short-term Insurer
The Enforcement Committee of the Financial Services Board levied a penalty of R100 000 against a short-term insurer, following a referral by the Registrar of Short-term Insurance stemming from a contravention of section 44 […]
Closing Loopholes under Twin Peaks
Some seriously bad outcomes for consumers of financial products resulted from products being designed in a way to circumvent regulatory supervision or action. Co-operation and collaboration between various bodies will form a cornerstone […]
Adviser Categorisation Alternatives
The RDR proposal to create three categories of advisers drew the most responses. A progress report was presented by Leanne Jackson at the 2015 Insurance Regulatory Seminar. RDR so far All stakeholder feedback […]
Future Approach to Market Conduct Supervision
A presentation at the FSB Insurance Regulatory Seminar provided practical insight into what we can expect from market conduct supervision when the new regulatory body is in place. We are rapidly approaching the […]
Taxation Laws Amendment Bill
The announcement of changes in the tax treatment of provident funds led to a flurry of resignations and withdrawals from members of such funds who feared that their ability to withdraw all their […]
Hakuna Matata
The Italian word “Andante” features in one of ABBA’s classic songs. Dictionaries define it as “a moderately slow” movement, usually in music. Closer to home, there is also a Swahili term, Pole-pole, which […]
