Banking and financial services

New banks are changing the face of the sector.

When Capitec was granted a banking licence in 1999, it was a rare event. Since 2017, a number of new entrants have started to change the face of South African banking.

Tyme, or Take Your Money Everywhere, was granted a licence in 2017.

Other prospective new banks are state-related enterprises: Ithala, Postbank and a Human Settlements Development Bank. The Ithala Development Finance Corporation has functioned for many years in the province as the provider of funds for small enterprises, especially in areas where infrastructure is poor and access to traditional banking services is not good. The provincial government, which runs Ithala, wants to launch it as a bank.

Three state entities are merging to create the new Human Settlements Development Bank: the National Housing Finance Corporation, the Housing Loan Fund and the National Urban Reconstruction and Housing Agency.

The focus will be on financing housing for poorer households and for large state-funded housing projects. Part of the drive is to integrate cities better and to combat the legacy of the spatial divide that apartheid left behind. Private sector investment will be sought.

The Chartered Institute of Government Finance, Audit and Risk Officers

ONLINE RESOURCES

Association for Savings and Investment South Africa: www.asisa.org.za Chartered Institute of Government Finance, Audit and Risk Officers: www.cigfaro.co.za Financial Sector Conduct Authority: www.fsca.co.za Insurance Institute of South Africa (KwaZulu-Natal): www.iikzn.co.za South African Institute for Chartered Accountants: www.saica.co.za

SECTOR INSIGHT

Cigfaro's annual conference is in Durban in 2019.

(Cigfaro) advises institutions, trains its members in public finance and promotes the interests of professionals in the public sector. It also develops and assesses qualifications and advises tertiary institutions on the requirements for course. Cigfaro also runs Public Sector Audit and Risk training sessions and the national conference will be held in Durban in October 2019.

The South African Institute for Chartered Accountants International will provide training in KwaZuluNatal (Umhlanga) in financial reporting standards for SMMEs while the the Insurance Institute of KwaZulu-Natal (IISA) holds regular education workshops. One such meeting, a legislative workshop, is jointly hosted by IISA, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority and the South African Institute for Chartered Accountants. The institute’s mentorship programme is run in association with the Musifunde Training Centre.