Financial Services Tribunal rules updated – Guidelines to apply for reconsideration
The Financial Services Tribunal, which replaced the FSB Appeal Board from 1 April 2018, provides a person who is “aggrieved” by a “decision” of a “decision-maker” to apply to the Tribunal for a reconsideration of such a decision. In a recent case, the Tribunal referred a decision by a pension fund back for a re-evaluation of its […]
Class of Business deadlines – Clarity from the FSCA
The amended Fit and Proper requirements of Board Notice 194 of 2017 determined various requirements that need to be implemented and complied with before specific deadline dates. Since the release of the original Board Notice, various other notices and amendments have been released that provided updates on this. One of these deadlines is the new […]
Tribunal decisions – Detailed information critical for proper outcome
Since April 2018, the FSR Act includes the Pension Funds Adjudicator (PFA) as a “decision-maker” and is therefore in a position to entertain appeals against determinations handed down by the PFA. In one of the latest cases an aggrieved Mr N (Applicant) approached the Tribunal for the reconsideration of a PFA determination on the allocation […]
Replacing of a life risk policy – Call for comments on RPAR template
Based on the comments received through public consultation, the FSCA is of the view that the previous proposed template for the replacement advice record (RPAR) raised certain practical challenges for intermediaries and insurers and may not necessarily have been designed in such a way as to achieve the intended outcomes envisaged by Rule 19 of […]
Tribunal case opens whole new can of worms
Since representatives have been given the right to appeal to the Financial Services Tribunal against debarment decisions, many such actions have been set aside by this appeal body. In most of these cases the debarment process was not followed as per the updated Section 14 of the FAIS Act and the debarment was uplifted. However, in […]
FAIS Ombud Client Care Centre – Enhances customer experience
On 22 March 2019, the FAIS Ombud established a Client Care Centre. According to the FAIS Ombud, the Client Care Centre will ensure that the Ombud’s office is able to not only efficiently deal with incoming calls related to existing complaints and enquiries, but to continue to effectively register complaints received. The complaints received will […]
Suspicious and unusual transactions reporting – FIC releases updated guidance note
After a successful consultation process, the Financial Intelligence Centre has updated its guidance on suspicious and unusual transaction reporting, which relates to section 29 of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, 2001 (Act 38 of 2001). Guidance Note 4B (GN4B), informs accountable and reporting institutions, and any other person as described in the FIC Act on meeting […]
CPD – 31 May Deadline drawing ever nearer
In terms of the Fit & Proper requirements (BN194), CPD for regulatory (FSCA) purposes was officially implemented as a requirement. This means advisors are obliged to perform CPD activities towards regulatory (FSCA) CPD requirements during a CPD cycle, which is a period of 12 months commencing on 1 June of every year and ending 31 May of […]
Increase in social media users – Opportunity for financial advisors?
The 2019 Social Media Landscape Report showcases the South African digital and social media trends. The report confirms that social media is growing rapidly in South Africa, with users constantly finding ways to use each platform effectively and brands finding better ways to engage. The latest statistics (and its growing by the day) show the […]
Changing consumer prosperity – Nielsen research reveals consumers spending habits
According to latest Nielsen research consumers globally are growing increasingly optimistic about their financial wellbeing, particularly in developing markets throughout Asia-Pacific, Africa & Middle East and Latin America. Globally, 58%of global consumers feel they are better off financially than they were five years ago, with around half of consumers (52%) in Africa and the Middle […]