Budget | Fitch questions Treasury’s fiscal consolidation narrative
National Treasury forecasts a narrowing deficit, from 4.8% of GDP in 2025/26 to 3.8% in 2026/27. Fitch, however, projects larger deficits of 5.1% and 4.5% respectively.
Trust is an insurance broker’s ‘moat’ in the digital era
Santam’s Fanus Coetzee says the real value of an intermediary is not at sale, but when a client needs clarity, reassurance, and help after a loss.
FSCA overstepped its authority on retirement fund exemption time limit
The Tribunal finds the FSCA acted beyond its legal authority by imposing a three-year time limit on an exemption, reaffirming a key precedent on regulatory overreach.
Surge in unregulated buy-now-pay-later raises affordability concerns
Credit expansion is coming almost entirely from the deeper use of cards and personal loans by current credit-active consumers, rather than fresh market entrants, says RCS.
Unauthorised operators masquerade as top firms to promise unrealistic returns
The FSCA warns the public about multiple unauthorised financial scams impersonating trusted brands on social media, urging caution and verification before investing.
Beefed-up SARS might stave off R20bn in tax increases in 2026
An inflation-linked rise in the general fuel levy will in no way be sufficient to plug the revenue hole left by scrapping the two VAT increases.
Budget gap widens as revenue projections slide
The revised Budget reveals the hard truth: with limited borrowing room and rising demands, Treasury must make tough calls on what to fund – and what to cut.
Treasury eyes billions in savings through tougher spending oversight
The Budget Overview outlines plans to overhaul public spending processes, aiming to identify inefficiencies.
Employer medical boarding doesn’t guarantee a disability insurance payout
Even when an employer’s doctor declares an employee unfit, group policy definitions such as ‘Own Occupation’ vs ‘Any Occupation’ can lead to claim denials.
Behind the scenes at OPFA: how pension complaints are investigated and resolved
Deputy Pension Funds Adjudicator Naheem Essop shares how OPFA’s inquisitorial process works, the challenges funds face with internal dispute resolution, and what happens when complaints escalate or are deemed frivolous.
Terms of a restraint of trade must be clearly set out
Three recent judgments in employment disputes underscore that courts will enforce only those restraint-of-trade clauses that are drafted with precision, protect a genuine employer interest, and strike a fair balance between competition and individual freedom
Municipal crisis: mismanagement threatens service delivery and financial stability
Recent reports and the Budget Overview expose deep flaws in local government, prompting urgent calls for debt reforms and stricter accountability.
Mastering what matters: a framework for retirement planning
Nedgroup Investments’ Nic Andrew shows advisers how a simple, repeatable framework – focused on a handful of high-impact levers – can boost clients’ retirement success probabilities.
Collective investment schemes post strongest quarterly inflows in years
Despite a turbulent first quarter marked by political discord and trade-tariff shocks, CIS managers attracted R48bn in net inflows – the highest quarterly figure since 2020.
SCA upholds pre-commencement tax debts in business rescue
The Supreme Court of Appeal confirms that re-quantifying a tax debt post-rescue commencement doesn’t create a new, preferential liability – cementing SARS’s place as a concurrent creditor under an approved rescue plan.
In the age of AI, asset managers face a new kind of intelligence test
As artificial intelligence accelerates a quiet revolution in active asset management, Coronation’s Peter Kempen argues the future lies in blending AI’s speed and scale with human intuition and judgment.
Tribunal upholds funds’ broad discretion in death benefit allocation
A nominee who receives a dependency allocation can still claim a share of any surplus death benefit according to the deceased’s nominations.
Sanlam’s new business volumes increase in the first quarter of 2025
The group is keeping its discretionary capital well above target amid concerns over potential tariff-driven inflation, supply-chain shocks, and credit defaults.
