A review of governance of South Africa’s five major banking groups will be undertaken, Registrar of Banks Christo Wiese said on Wednesday.
”We think our banks are good, but there is room for improvement. This pro-active step is for us to ensure good governance,” SA Reserve Bank (SARB) deputy governor Gill Marcus said at a news conference in Pretoria.
Wiese said: ”The review is undertaken with a view to measuring to what extent the South African banking industry complies with international standards and norms as regards good corporate governance and best practice, and to ensure that (its) credibility as a competitor in the global market is maintained.”
The banking groups are Absa, FirstRand, Investec, Nedcor Investment Bank and Standard Bank.
The SARB and the five had agreed to undertake the review to assess compliance with corporate governance best practices according to the Banks Act.
”The SARB and the… banking groups… are determined to ensure that our banking sector retains and builds on its reputation internationally by proactively addressing the maintenance of the highest corporate governance standards.” The decision comes in the wake of recent international corporate failures and the recommendations of the King Committee on Corporate Governance in March this year, Wiese said.
”The purpose of the review is to establish to what extent an adequate and effective process of corporate governance within each group has been established and maintained, and to what extent the overall effectiveness of the process can be improved and enhanced by the board of directors and the regulatory authorities.”
The scope of the review would be the same for all banks, he said.
”The proactive identification of any deficiencies will allow the respective banks to implement the findings, in order to be in line with international best practice and minimum standards.”
Marcus emphasised that the review was a pro-active step.
”It is not arising out of any other issue,” she said.
”We have got to do a lot of things better than anyone else to differentiate ourselves from other emerging markets.”
Marcus would not say what the terms of reference were, but Wiese confirmed that incentive schemes would be among them.
The plan is to later conduct a similar review of small and medium-size banks.
Former Labour Court Judge President John Myburgh, SC, will head up the committee, with the remaining members being drawn from the SARB’s bank supervision department.
They are divisional head Hermann Krull, Jabu Kuzwayo, assistant general manager of the legal section, and analyst Judy Texeira.
Marcus said the findings would be published in a report early next year.
”It will give a flavour of the pros and cons without naming banks.”
Jaco Maree, chairman of the Banking Council, said the response of the banks to the review was overwhelmingly positive. They were committed to positive participation.
”Banking is all about confidence.”
There had been a lot of turmoil in the South African banking industry, as well as globally, he said.
”We welcome something that will hopefully confirm that South African banks are properly governed.”
According to Maree, the international experience of South African banks was not one of doubt.
”South African banks are pretty well run.”
That was not the case with many other developing countries, he said.
The confidence in local banks was partially due to the recognition that South Africa had strong banking supervision activities, Maree said.
Marcus said South Africa had covered ground others still had to.
”We can rightly say we are very much in keeping with international best practice.”
Wiese said he believed that the shake-out in the local banking industry had now been completed.
”We are confident that stability has returned and that confidence has returned as well.”
Marcus said: ”We did have a shock to the banking sector. It was managed and resolved. The big banks came out even stronger.”
Issues in the industry that needed attention included access to finance, which the sector realised, she said.
Half of the population did not bank, and an enormous amount of work had to be done.
Asked about the possibility of a single regulator for the sector, Marcus — who also chairs the Financial Services Board — said she believed that was the way the finance minister wanted to go.
”We are working on the basis that that is going to happen.”
Rather than whether there should be a single regulator or not, the concern was that there should be appropriate skills, co-operation and communication, she said.
”There must be the ability to take decisive action.”
Marcus added: ”Too much emphasis is being placed on a single regulator as a panacea.”
She said a lot of focus needed to be directed on the unregulated part of industry. – Sapa