FSCA warns the public against Getty Financial Services (Pty) Ltd and Mr Leno De Villiers

The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) cautions the public against doing any financial services business with Getty Financial Services and Mr Leno De Villiers who are not authorised to give any financial advice or render any intermediary services in terms of the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act, 2002 (FAIS Act).

According to the information received by the FSCA, Mr Leno De Villiers has published a statement on his LinkedIn profile that:

“Getty Financial Services is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Clifton Goldridge Group, with offices on Wall Street, New York and Cape Town, South Africa. Getty provides inter alia: vehicle & asset finance, home loans, refinancing of assets, vehicle warranties, vehicle & home insurance. All our [Getty’s] products and services are provided directly or as an intermediary to companies or individuals. As financial intermediary we work in partnership with the Refin Group, who has established business relationships with all the local commercial financial institutions, merchant and niche banks in South Africa”

The FSCA confirms that neither Getty Financial Services (Pty) Ltd, Refin Group (Pty) Ltd, nor Clifton Goldridge Group (Pty) Ltd, which appear to be linked to Mr Leno De Villiers are authorised by the FSCA to render any financial services. Attempts to get hold of Mr Leno De Villiers were unsuccessful.

Members of the public should always check that an entity or individual is registered with the FSCA to provide Financial Advisory & Intermediary Services and what category of financial services it is that the entity is registered to provide. There are instances where persons are registered to provide basic advisory services for a low risk product and then offer services of a far more complex and risky nature.

The FSCA reminds customers who wish to conduct financial services with an institution or person to check beforehand with the FSCA on either the toll free number (0800 110 443) or on https://www.fsca.co.za/Fais/Search_FSP.htm whether such institution or person is authorised to render financial services.