The International Swaps and Derivatives Association Inc. (ISDA) indicated that South Africa has been in focus over recent months since the margin requirements for non-centrally cleared derivatives transactions were published for comment in June 2015. The aim of the requirements is to outline the future regulation of OTC derivatives in South Africa in line with … Continue Reading
The Banks Amendment Act came into operation on Monday, 29 June 2015. The Amendment Act looks slightly different to the draft bills that were circulated towards the end of 2014. Input from the Standing Committee on Finance has now been incorporated. The Amendment Act provides for the curator of a financially distressed bank to create … Continue Reading
Cryptocurrencies are unregulated in most jurisdictions and their legal nature has not yet been determined by legislation or case law. Virtual or digital currencies display certain key features of money: They represent value and some (like Bitcoin) can be purchased or exchanged for a real currency equivalent. They can be used to make payment for … Continue Reading
In South Africa a company is recognised as a legal entity separately from its shareholders. Any claims arising from the company’s activities would be brought against the company itself and not against its holding company or shareholders. The statutory liability of a shareholder in a private company is limited to its respective capital contributions to … Continue Reading
As the use of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin increases, so will the demand for insurance to protect against the risks associated with them. A number of global Bitcoin storage providers offer their customers insurance for storage vault failure. At least one US insurance group offers Bitcoin holdings insurance as an endorsement to existing crime policies. Given … Continue Reading
South Africa’s Minister of Trade and Industry published draft regulations on the review of the limitations of fees and interest rates on 25 June 2015. The regulations will increase and decrease interest rates and fees that credit providers can levy on consumers’ mortgage agreements, credit cards, store cards and unsecured credit transactions. The proposed changes … Continue Reading
With effect from 29 June 2015, the Banks Act has been amended. The amendments to the Banks Act enable the provisions in the Companies Act on arrangements and compromises to apply to banks under curatorship and to expand the basis on which a curator of a bank may dispose of all or part of the … Continue Reading
An agreement has been reached between the justice department and national treasury regarding the salary grading for the South African Information Regulator. The nomination process in the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPI) for appointment of the Regulator will soon be initiated. Section 41 requires a multi-party committee of the National Assembly to assist … Continue Reading
In early June 2015 the Competition Authority of Kenya fined the Association of Kenya Reinsurers about R91 000 for setting minimum premium rates for insurance companies tendering to provide group life cover to the National Intelligence Service employees. The fixing of minimum premium rates have been going on for years in Kenya. The reinsurers claim these … Continue Reading
The question arises how businesses should prepare for the introduction of carbon tax in South Africa on 1 January 2016, when the legislation has not been released. There are clues in the carbon tax policy paper released in 2013 by National Treasury about what we can expect to see in terms of the pricing of carbon and … Continue Reading
On 4 May 2015 the Pretoria high court found that an applicant who was terminally ill and suffering intractably with a life expectancy of a few weeks at most, and fully mentally competent, could freely and voluntarily without undue influence be assisted in the act of suicide. The applicant was entitled to be assisted, by … Continue Reading
Despite the increase in mobile payment services globally, the terms “mobile money” and/or “mobile payment services” are not specifically regulated in any piece of South African legislation. However, the acceptance of deposits from the general public by a person (natural or juristic) is regulated by the Banks Act Section 11 provides that only a registered … Continue Reading
The South African Minister of Health, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi called a Medico-Legal Summit on 9 and 10 March 2015 which we participated in as part of the Ministerial task team appointed to look into the rise of medical negligence claims against the healthcare sector. The objective of the Summit, which was attended by interested stakeholders … Continue Reading
Have a look at our Doing business in South Africa publication for an overview of the legal issues relevant to foreign investors wishing to establish or acquire a business in South Africa. South Africa has highly sophisticated financial, mining, commercial, and industrial sectors which compete with the best throughout the world and attract considerable interest … Continue Reading
In the first formal step toward hedge fund regulation in South Africa, National Treasury has published a s63 declaration under the Collective Investment Schemes Control Act, 2002 (CISCA). Investment funds conducting the business of a hedge fund will, from 1 April 2015, become collective investment schemes (CIS) and will be regulated by CISCA. Hedge funds … Continue Reading
In February 2014 the South African Revenue Service (SARS) announced that the implementation date of the FATCA Agreement with the USA was 28 October 2014. What does this mean? FATCA is the international agreement imposed by the USA on all signatories (which in effect means any country wishing to remain on cordial financial terms with … Continue Reading
The South African national budget speech was delivered on 25 February 2015 by the Minister of Finance, Minister Nene. Have a look at our tax team’s review of the South African National Budget 2015.… Continue Reading
Increasing enforcement of anti-bribery and corruption regulations and an increased focus on compliance have made a pre-acquisition compliance due diligence a common feature of cross-border M&A transactions in Africa and elsewhere. Many experienced transaction attorneys and dealmakers will be aware of the limits of even the most thorough due diligence. This has led to concerns … Continue Reading
Increased regulation on the horizon Earmarked as a contributor to the 2008 financial crisis, over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives were one of the financial instruments identified by the G20 summit as needing increased regulation. Different jurisdictions have approached the regulation of OTC derivatives in their own manner. In South Africa, regulation has been addressed in the Financial … Continue Reading
The South African insurance regulator has published a governance and risk management framework for insurers. For a snapshot view, here are ten things to know about the new framework. The Governance and Risk Management Framework takes effect on 1 April 2015. A governance framework must be adopted by insurers to ensure the prudent management and … Continue Reading
Our Financial Institutions Legal Snapshot blog offers a convenient resource for those keeping track of the evolving financial services regulatory environment in Africa and South Africa specifically.… Continue Reading
