South Africa: publication of the Financial Services Laws General Amendment Bill

The National Treasury has published a copy of the Financial Services Laws General Amendment Bill: see here (pdf). An explanatory memorandum is available here (pdf). The Bill was tabled in Parliament at the end of last month. A Treasury press release, which provides an overview of the Bill's purpose, is available here (pdf). The Bill addresses some of the weaknesses in the financial regulatory framework identified in the Treasury's policy paper A safer financial sector to serve South Africa better, published last year (see here, pdf). It does not, however, provide for the move to a twin peaks model of financial regulation: legislative proposals in this respect are expected next year.

Staying with theme of financial regulation in South Africa it is worth noting that the National Treasury, in conjunction with the Financial Services Board, has recently published for consultation a proposed framework for the regulation of hedge funds in South Africa: see here (pdf).