Slowing down - FSB

News just in is that the FSB has finalised the processing of 13 872 applications for authorisation as financial services providers (FSP's) out of a total of 15 048 applications received thus far.

254 of these applications were received with effect from 1 April 2006.

Meanwhile, according to Gerry Anderson, the deputy executive officer for FAIS and consumer education, says that despite receiving several new applications for licensing, the steady reduction in the number of applications in process, is continuing.

On a point of clarity spokesperson at the FSB, Russel Michaels says that an FSP does not equate to an intermediary mainly because (although there may be a number of sole proprietorships holding licences) a large number of FSP's can have many individual intermediaries in its employ and therefore operating under one license e.g. Absa Brokers where there are over a thousand intermediaries.

The number of individual intermediaries falling under the FAIS legal framework is estimated to be in excess of 130 000. This figure includes a large number of intermediaries engaged in the funeral assistance sector where funeral policies are the financial product.

An interesting name has cropped up in the latest list of FSP's that have had their licences withdrawn, Elian Suisse. This company and two of its members were embroiled in a rather nasty hate mail campaign with a journalist from Moneyweb.

We asked the FSB to provide reasons for the withdrawal of the licence, and it turns out that the reasons for a withdrawal are kept confidential and that these applicants do have the right to appeal.

According to Michaels the withdrawals were affected after it came to the attention of the FSB that the key individuals of the FSP's no longer met the Fit and Proper Requirement for being authorised and after we had interacted with them regarding the information at hand.

Meanwhile 268 FSP's which had been authorised have in the meantime been successful with their request to lapse their licences.

A total of 819 applications have been declined thus far, and three applications that had previously been reported as declined, have been reversed namely:

1.FSP 2939 - Dhavarajaloo Pakiriy, Durban North, Kwa Zulu Natal
2.FSP 7042 - WIP Treasury Solutions (Pty) Ltd, Houghton, Gauteng
3.FSP 24612 - AutoMax, Edenvale, Gauteng;

In addition an application that had previously been reported as declined (FSP 20221: Leo Brokers and Consultant CC, Randburg, Gauteng) has been granted permission to continue with its business activities until the appeal lodged against the registrars' decision, has been finalised.

Anderson adds, "FSP's whose applications had been unsuccessful are entitled to appeal to the FSB Appeal Board, an independent tribunal, if the applicant is dissatisfied with the decision by the registrar.