National Treasury this week submitted final changes to the Financial Services Laws General Amendment Bill to Parliament’s standing committee on finance.
The bill contains amendments to 11 laws that govern the financial services sector.
One of the main aims of the changes is to tighten up regulation in line with an international assessment of financial sector regulation by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank following the 2008 financial crisis. Another aim is to make the Financial Services Board the lead regulator of the financial services sector. The amendments will also align financial sector legislation with other laws, Treasury says.
A Treasury spokesperson says the finance committee is expected to consider the amendments soon, with a view to the bill being approved before Parliament goes into recess.
The effective date of the amendments could be January next year, with delayed implementation for some of the provisions, such as those that will amend the definition of a medical scheme in the Medical Schemes Act, she says.
The amended definition will not take effect until regulations that relate to health insurance policies are in place, the spokesperson says. These regulations – issued under the Long Term and Short Term Insurance Acts – are expected to be in place by March. A revised draft of the regulations will be published late next month, she says.