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Expect growth, but don’t be over ambitious

15 January 2014 | The Stage

After a well-deserved break for the festive season, the FAnews would like to take this opportunity to welcome back its readers. We wish you all of the best in 2014 and may it be a prosperous year in which the financial services sector sees nothing but strong growth. By all accounts, 2013 was a significantly challenging year for South Africa. The country was just gaining momentum following the 2009 financial crisis when a series of service delivery protests, wage strikes and other political events put the brakes on what might have been a year of significant growth for the country.

Risk management key during fire season

13 December 2013 | Featured Story

December is usually associated with spending time with family, and enjoying the festivities that the season brings. However, in November 2012, the residents of Saint Francis Bay were in shock as a devastating fire made its way through the holiday town destroying homes.

Is the FSB truly ready for Twin Peaks?

13 December 2013 | Straight Talk

An unfortunate recurring theme this year was the fact that there are still some brokers, advisers and product providers who do not comply with the guidelines set out by the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services (FAIS) Act. These individuals (and companies) get reported to the FAIS Ombud who has had a busy year in terms of determinations. According to the latest annual FAIS Ombud report, which was released on November 1 2013, the number of new complaints for the 2012/13 year was 9 949. This is an increase of 1128 complaints from those which were recorded in the 2011/12 year.

Regulatory uncertainty significantly affected the industry in 2013

13 December 2013 | The Stage

This has been an interesting year for the South African financial services industry. The Financial Services Board made a bold statement at the beginning of the year when it announced that it would be going ahead with the implementation of three new pieces of legislation which would change the face of the insurance industry. While there has been significant resistance to this, determinations which were dealt with by the FAIS Ombud points to the fact that the new pieces of legislation are necessary. This however did not exclude the FSB from its own bit of controversy.