Asisa Feedback on Budget Speech Comment
From the February 2014 edition of the Asisa’s Dispatches: A number of members and stakeholders have asked us to provide context to the announcement by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan as part of his […]
Industry News
Withholding of Pension Withdrawal Benefits
A recent determination by the Pension Funds Adjudicator concerns an employer’s decision to instruct the administrator of the pension fund to withhold the complainant’s withdrawal benefits after terminating his service. In their response […]
Not quite TCF?
The fair treatment of clients by certain product providers was recently questioned by Bruce Cameron in an article on causal event charges. A key part of ensuring proper market conduct is a new […]
Retirement funding gets a boost
The Taxation Laws Amendment Act No. 31 of 2013, published in Government Gazette No. 37158 on 12 December 2013, contains very important changes to the tax treatment of contributions to retirement funding. Hettie […]
Is Healthcare Remuneration Above Board?
We recently queried the discrepancy in commission payable to healthcare brokers and what their counterparts in the short-term industry earn for essentially providing the same service. In response to an enquiry from a […]
Hedge Fund Regulation a Step Closer
The National Treasury and the Financial Services Board (FSB) published a Joint media statement outlining their preliminary response to stakeholder comments on proposals released in September 2012 for regulating hedge funds. Annexure A, […]
Old Mutual Representatives Granted Exemption
Board Notice 273 of 2013, published in December last year, provides details of an exemption granted to certain Old Mutual representatives in respect of the experience and qualification criteria applicable to: Collective investment […]
Blue Financial Services Loses Licence
A recent article in Business Day shed light on why the FSB suspended the licence of Blue Financial Services, a player in the micro-lending business. “The FSB has suspended the licence as a […]
Causal Event Charges Back in the Spotlight
The latest determination by the Pension Fund Adjudicator (PFA) brought the levying of penalties on retirement annuities, when changes are effected, to the fore again. I was unable to obtain a copy of […]
"MyLawyer” Settles with Enforcement Committee
The FSB published details of a settlement reached with a company trading as “MyLawyer” (the respondent) who acknowledged that it had contravened section 7(1)(a) of the Short-term Insurance Act (STIA). From November 2011, […]
An Unusual Finding
The following article is reproduced from Talking Point, a publication issued by Walkers Attorneys in Cape Town, with their kind permission. Sangoma training and work ethic by Amien Hoosain Kiewits Kroon Country Estate […]
Are Pension Fund Trustees Equipped to handle Death Benefits?
An article on the Norton Rose Fulbright website poses an interesting and challenging question to trustees in terms of their obligation as far as the distribution of death benefits is concerned. Prior to […]
Fraudulent Insurance Claim Backfires Badly
A fairly humorous article on a serious topic recently appeared in the Natal Mercury. The following synopsis was published in Legalbrief Today: A fraudulent insurance claim for R4 500 for a water-damaged cellphone […]
FSB Reaction to Excessive Charges on Endowments
Last year, we published an article titled Charges in Respect of Investment Policies. I referred the matter to the FSB for comment, particularly in view of the following opinions expressed by the Long-term […]
FSB Renamed
The Financial Sector Regulation Bill, published on 11 December 2013, indicates a new name for the Financial Services Board. The twin peaks regulatory framework will provide a comprehensive framework for regulating the financial […]
Huge Fines after Commission Overpayments
Sanlam Developing Markets Limited and Channel Life Limited were fined R2 million and R1 million respectively for inadvertently contravening the regulations regarding maximum commissions payable. During the period 1 November 2008 to 21 […]
Binder Regulations Update
One of the presentations at the FSB’s Regulatory seminar provided the latest information on binder regulations. After publishing three information letters, the Regulator requested information from insurers to determine the state of compliance […]
