Tag archives: Banking

A bank’s duties where third parties’ money is in a customer’s account

By Candice Grieve on March 23, 2021 Posted in Banking

In March 2021, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) handed down judgment with two important findings regarding a bank’s obligations to a third party, namely: a bank is not entitled to set-off the customer’s debts to the bank against amounts reflecting to the credit of a customer, if the bank knows that a third party … Continue reading

A growing market for green finance

By Steve Chemaly, Roxanne van Rooyen and Maxine Rodrigues on February 24, 2021 Posted in Banking

Climate change is no longer a future threat. The associated risks have already had a devastating impact on the financial sector. Financial institutions are financially exposed to the physical risks associated with more frequent severe weather events, as well as the transition risks associated with the changes necessary to achieve a low-carbon economy. Mortgage, commercial … Continue reading

Lloyd’s protected cell company approved to promote investment in members

By Patrick Bracher (ZA) on February 1, 2021 Posted in Banking

In order to attract new forms of capital, Lloyd’s of London applied for and has had regulatory approval to set up a protected cell company known as London Bridge Risk. The idea is to make it easier for investment in the Lloyd’s market with a more transparent and efficient capital management process. It provides access … Continue reading

An increased costs trap – Practical advice for SA Financial Institutions

By Steve Chemaly and Desiree Reddy (ZA) on January 23, 2015 Posted in Banking

The Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) was introduced with the implementation of Basel III, and is designed to ensure that financial institutions have the necessary assets on hand to ride out short-term liquidity disruptions. Two important elements of the LCR that are especially relevant to South African banks are: 1. The LCR in South Africa was … Continue reading

Class actions in the banking industry

By Yasmin Kadwa on September 2, 2014 Posted in Banking

The global banking industry has seen an increasing number of class actions being brought against it. In August 2014 an application for class action certification was launched against a number of Australian banks in New South Wales. The class potentially consists of hundreds of thousands of bank customers who were allegedly charged excessive credit card … Continue reading

The US Volcker rule, UK, South Africa and elsewhere

By Bridget King and Marc Van Heerden on August 7, 2014 Posted in Banking

The SA Reserve Bank is adopting a wait-and-see approach. The Volcker Rule came into force in the US in April 2014. The Volcker Rule is a federal regulation under the Dodd-Frank Act that, subject to exceptions, prohibits US commercial banks from engaging in short-term proprietary trading of many financial instruments for their own account. The … Continue reading

Sanctions on Russian and Ukrainian entities

By Desiree Reddy (ZA) on August 5, 2014 Posted in Banking

The European Union, the USA and Canada have imposed sanctions on a number of Russian and Ukrainian individuals and legal entities. The nature and scope of the sanctions are explained in this briefing. If a bank has entered into credit risk mitigation arrangements with Russian or Ukrainian counterparties, or relating to Russian or Ukrainian assets, … Continue reading

The nature of bank notes: money is money

By Patrick Bracher (ZA) on January 16, 2014 Posted in Banking

The nature of bank notes is not often discussed and it plays an increasingly limited role in financial transactions. In the hope of avoiding a revised valued-added tax assessment, a litigant made some imaginative submissions about the nature of bank notes in Master Currency v CSARS. The business of the litigant sold foreign currency in … Continue reading