Full annual report - African Bank - Investoreports

Regulatory risk
South Africa’s current environmental regulatory regime is
rigorous and robustly enforced, and is becoming more and
more stringent with government utilising its regulatory arms
in order to boost its intervention for a more stable banking
sector and one that is perceived to be fairer to the customer.
The law framework is a key factor in corporate decision
making that companies cannot afford to overlook.
Alongside the area of consumer protection, companies have
also been revising business practices to contend with, among
others, the new Companies Act, King III, insurance regulations
including Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services (FAIS)
regulations, data protection laws and capital and liquidity
requirements (Basel III and SAM). The risk is a more costly
and onerous environment in which to conduct business.
ABIL accepts and adopts a rigorous approach to all its
regulatory responsibilities through the group risk management
>accountability
and compliance teams to ensure that we have the necessary
rigour around our approach and implementation. Compliance
risks are managed through internal policies and processes,
which include risk management, legal, compliance and other
technical requirements relevant to the business.
ABIL also has ongoing engagement with the relevant
authorities to try and understand ahead of time what the
possible specific interventions could be and to prepare for
readiness in order to minimise the effect of additional and
amended laws and regulations. There is a flurry of work that is
being done by regulators as a result of the interest in
unsecured lending. On top of that there is a general increase
in regulatory activity across the board in the banking sector.
The table on the following page indicates the various
activities that we are involved in. We will continue our efforts
to engage and influence as appropriate.
African Bank Investments Limited | Integrated Report for the year ended 30 September 2012 129