Hard-pressed consumers forgo life and disability cover
Consumers not only bought fewer risk policies in the first six months of this year but also lapsed a higher number of policies, which is in stark contrast to the same period last […]
Stricter reporting obligations for crypto-asset transactions
From 1 March, new frameworks will impose expanded due diligence and information-exchange obligations on exchanges, custodians and banks.
More clarity required for an efficient voluntary disclosure programme
The South African Revenue Service (Sars) collected an additional R3 billion through its voluntary disclosure programme (VDP) and prevented tax leakage of another R865 million during the 2021 tax year. However, the latest […]
‘Honesty and integrity’ requirement now applies to the significant owners of FSPs
The publication of the final amendments to Joint Standard 1 of 2020 by the FSCA means that the significant owners of FSPs must now comply with the honesty and integrity requirement from which […]
Long-term insurance ombudsman receives fewer complaints
The Office of the Ombudsman for Long-Term Insurance (Olti) received 11.8% fewer chargeable complaints in the first half of this year compared with the same period last year, when the number of complaints […]
Brace for another 75-basis point repo rate hike this week
Most economists who participated in a poll by Reuters expect that the South African Reserve Bank (Sarb) will raise the repo rate by 75 basis points this week. Of the 20 economists polled […]
Competition Tribunal orders banks to do business with Sekunjalo – for now
The Competition Tribunal has granted interim relief to the Sekunjalo Group, preventing three banks from closing the group’s accounts and ordering five others to reopen accounts that have already been closed. The interim […]
‘Interrogate a guardian’s circumstances before deciding where to pay a death benefit’
A beneficiary fund should not be the default choice when a retirement fund pays out a death benefit due to minor beneficiaries, but trustees must interrogate a guardian’s circumstances and intentions before making […]
Administrators, funds will need 18 months to prepare for two-pot system, says Asisa
The Association for Savings and Investment South Africa (Asisa) says retirement funds and administrators would like at least 18 months from the date on which the final legislation is gazetted in which to […]
Two-pot retirement legislation must provide for immediate relief, says Cosatu
Cosatu has called for fund members to be allowed to access their accumulated savings when the two-pot retirement system takes effect, to prevent them from resigning and cashing out their savings. This was […]
Treasury, Sasria working on reintroducing R1bn in additional cover
National Treasury and the South African Special Risk Insurance Association (Sasria) are working on ways for the state-owned insurer to reintroduce the R1 billion in additional cover for large corporates, Finance Minister Enoch […]
Ruling on ‘unconstitutional’ certificates won’t stop NHI, says health minister
The High Court’s decision that requiring healthcare practitioners to obtain a certificate of need (CoN) is unconstitutional will not stop the Department of Health from implementing National Health Insurance (NHI), says Minister of […]
Momentum Metropolitan’s 2022 earnings surpass those in pre-pandemic 2019
Momentum Metropolitan Holdings (MMH) delivered normalised headline earnings of R4.383 billion in the year to 30 June, significantly higher than the R1.007bn in the previous financial year, following the less severe impact of […]
Grey-listing will have ‘muted’ impact on SA’s banks, says S&P
South Africa’s possible grey-listing will have a “muted” impact on the country’s banking sector, although local banks might suffer some reputational risk and could face higher compliance costs, according to S&P Global Ratings. […]
Make yourself traceable by retirement funds that may owe you money
There are things former retirement fund members and their beneficiaries can do to make it more likely they will be paid an unclaimed benefit due to them. By the end of last year, […]
Second GBS death linked to J&J’s Covid vaccine
The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) has confirmed a second fatal case of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) following vaccination with Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine. Last month, Sahpra reported South Africa’s first […]
Was the tribunal’s decision on causal event penalties warranted?
In an article about a case in which the High Court in Johannesburg ordered the South African Special Risk Association to pay Blackspear, the judge noted that, despite the complexity of the relevant […]
Treasury sets out tax implications if SRD grant is made permanent
A jobseekers’ grant and a caregivers’ grant might be “an acceptable compromise” to a permanent Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant or a basic income grant (BIG), according to a discussion document published […]
