OVERVIEW
The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) regulates and supervises the market conduct of financial institutions in South Africa.
The mandate of the FSCA is to enhance and support the efficiency and integrity of the financial system, and to protect financial customers. As stated in section 57 of the Financial Sector Regulation Act (No. 9 of 2017), this includes promoting the fair treatment of financial customers by financial institutions.
The Executive Committee (EXCO) of the FSCA oversees the operations of the organisation. The EXCO comprises the commissioner and three deputy commissioners, all of whom are appointed by the Minister of Finance.
For optimal efficiency, agility and sustainability, the FSCA is structured into 10 divisions, each one headed by a divisional executive that reports to EXCO. Divisions are further organised into various departments and specialised units, as depicted in the organogram.
The FSCA's Regulatory Strategy addresses:
The FSCA liaises with national, regional and international regulatory authorities to build collaborative efforts for the exchange of information and best practice.
Our regulatory cooperation and collaboration is enabled through various bilateral and multilateral memoranda of understanding (MoUs). Furthermore, the FSCA is a member of IOSCO, IOPS, IAIS, FSI, FATF, OECD, FSB, AFI, and Finconet.
We seek to provide an effective and efficient procurement service to the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) and its stakeholders through procurement best practices and optimal resource management, in compliance with the FSCA policies and relevant procurement regulatory framework.
The FSCA is committed to affirmative procurement consistent with the South African Constitution and the approved DTI Codes of Good Practice issued in terms of the BBBEE Act No. 53 of 2003.
Our annual reports are tabled annually in September and published on our website annually in October.
We initially followed traditional annual reporting from 2018, and progressed to integrated reporting in 2023 FY.
Our predecessor's annual reports [Financial Services Board (FSB)] and previous annual publications are also available
The FSCA has six core divisions namely: the Licensing and Business Centre, Regulatory Policy, Conduct of Business Supervision, Market Integrity, Retirement Funds Supervision, Investigations and Enforcement.
We also have specialised support departments such as, Human Resources, Financial Management, Legal, Communications and Language Service, Facilities and Security, Governance, Risk and Assurance (GRA), Supply Chain Management and Information Communications and Technology, to support the core divisions.
This page provides mechanisms that you can use to exercise your rights in terms of Protection of Personal Information Act No 4 of 2013 (POPIA) and Promotion of Access to Information Act No 2 of 2000 (As amended) (PAIA), and to socialize any POPIA/PAIA related communication issued by the FSCA in their capacity as a responsible party.
The FSCA takes your privacy very seriously.
The FSCA aims to ensure inclusivity and increase its reach at all times. We have a language services unit that assists with communication, interpretation, translation and publication, as outlined in the FSCA Language Policy.
Licensing is a critical component in the regulatory framework and serves a key function in the supervision value chain. It provides an entry point for applicants before they are allowed to conduct business as a financial institution. It is therefore essential that licensing systems be efficient and robust.
It is important to note that the principle of proportionality applies, to ensure that there is no “one-size-fits-all” licensing approach. The approach and the requirements must be proportionate to the risks underlying the business activities of different entities.
In order to ensure efficient and effective mechanisms for compliance and supervision, various online portals are made available to industry and regulated entities.
The Financial Sector Conduct Authority, in terms of section 237(1)(a) of the Financial Sector Regulation Act, 2017 (Act No. 9 of 2017) and various sections under financial sector laws, hereby determines fees charged by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority, to the extent set out in the Schedule.
Summative lists are provided for all entities registered as authorised financial product providers.
Search and confirm the registration status of financial services providers.
Guidelines and documents outlining and unpacking information required for the registration and supervision of financial products, highlighting requirements.
CPD is the ongoing learning and development that professionals undertake to maintain and improve their knowledge, skills, and competence.
The FSCA supports the industry in addressing any knowledge gaps related to the laws administered by the FSCA, consequently contributing to the skills of regulated persons.
Misconduct in the financial sector undermines consumer confidence. To maintain and support confidence and integrity in the sector, one of the FSCA's strategic objectives is to act decisively and visibly against misconduct. The FSCA's enforcement function is critical to this objective, focusing on impactful and visible enforcement.
Curator progress reports to the Financial Sector Conduct Authority.
The Financial Sector Regulation Act 9 of 2017 (“the FSR Act”) establishes the independent Financial Services Tribunal (“the Tribunal”) in terms of section 219 thereof. The Tribunal replaced the FSB Appeal Board and came into effect on 1 April 2018.
Upon application by aggrieved persons, the Tribunal reconsiders decisions of decision-makers as defined in terms of section 218 of the FSR Act and performs the other functions as conferred on it by the Act and specific financial sector laws.
Statutory Manager Reports to the Financial Sector Conduct Authority.
The FSCA is the market conduct regulator of financial institutions that provide financial products and financial services, financial institutions that are licensed in terms of a financial sector law, including banks, insurers, retirement funds and administrators, and market infrastructures.
The FSCA assists clients with legislative related complaints dealing with the manner in which the regulated companies conduct themselves and any contravention of the acts by which they are governed.
Under section 57 of the Financial Sector Regulation Act, the FSCA is mandated to provide financial customers and potential financial customers with financial education programmes and promote financial literacy and the ability of existing and potential customers to make sound financial decisions.
We use various innovative methodologies to engage consumers and started a greater collaboration process with various stakeholders within the National Financial Consumer Education Committee, as well as Financial Institutions. Such collaboration activities significantly increased our reach during 2023/24.
The idea for the fscamymoney website forms part of the Consumer Education Departments' Mandate to provide guidance to consumers in order to make better financial choices and to live a financially successful life.
The primary objective of the Information Centre is to provide access to a specialised information service, specific to the needs of the Financial Services Conduct Authority through effective management of resources in a responsible, cost effective manner.
The Registrar of Pension funds provides a central database on the FSCA website to assist members of the public to ascertain through the search engine if there are any unclaimed benefits due to them.
Welcome to the FSCA’s news section where we share important announcements, latest news coverage and various developments of interest.
For Media-related queries: communications@fsca.co.za
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