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Financial Sector Regulation Act, 2017 (Act No. 9 of 2017)

Chapter 11 : Significant Owners

Part 1 : Significant owners

157. Significant owners

 

(1) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), a person is a significant owner of a financial institution if the person, directly or indirectly, alone or together with a related or inter-related person, has the ability to control or influence materially the business or strategy of the financial institution.

 

(2) Without limiting subsection (1), a person has the ability referred to in that subsection if—
(a) the person, directly or indirectly, alone or together with a related or inter-related person, has the power to appoint 15% of the members of the governing body of the financial institution;
(b) the consent of the person, alone or together with a related or inter-related person, is required for the appointment of 15% of the members of a governing body of the financial institution; or
(c) the person, directly or indirectly, alone or together with a related or inter-related person, holds a qualifying stake in the financial institution.

 

(3) The Minister, the Reserve Bank and a financial sector regulator are not, in those capacities, significant owners of a financial institution.

 

(4)

(a) A financial sector regulator may, with the concurrence of the other financial sector regulator and on application, declare a person not to be a significant owner of—
(ii) the manager of a collective investment scheme; or
(iii) a financial institution prescribed in terms of Regulations made for the purposes of this paragraph.
(b) A financial sector regulator may not make a declaration or give its concurrence to a declaration in terms of paragraph (a), unless the financial sector regulator is satisfied that—
(i) the declaration will not prejudice the achievement of the financial sector regulator’s objective as set out in either section 33 or 57; and
(ii) it is not necessary to apply the requirements of this Chapter to the person.
(c) A financial sector regulator may, with the concurrence of the other financial sector regulator, revoke a declaration that it made in terms of paragraph (a).
(d) Before a financial sector regulator revokes a declaration that was made in terms of paragraph (a), the financial sector regulator must—
(i) give the person who has been declared not to be a significant owner a notice of the proposed action and a statement of the reasons for it; and
(ii) invite the person to make submissions on the matter, and give the person a reasonable period to do so.
(e) The period referred to in paragraph (d)(ii) must be at least one month.
(f) In deciding whether to revoke a declaration, the financial sector regulators must take into account all submissions made within the period specified in the notice in terms of paragraph (d)(ii).
(g) If the delay involved in complying, or complying fully, with paragraph (d) in respect of a proposed revocation is likely to prejudice financial customers, prejudicially affect financial stability or defeat the object of the revocation, the financial sector regulators may revoke the declaration without having complied, or complied fully, with that paragraph.
(h) If the financial sector regulators revoke a declaration in terms of paragraph (a) without having complied, or complied fully, with paragraph (d) for the reason set out in paragraph (g), they must give the person a written statement of the reasons why paragraph (d) was not complied with.
(i) The person may make submissions to the financial sector regulator within one month after being provided with the statement.
(j) The financial sector regulators must consider the submissions, and notify the person, as soon as practicable, whether they propose to make another declaration in terms of paragraph (a) in relation to the person and the financial institution.
(k) A declaration, and a revocation of a declaration, in terms of this subsection must be published.

 

[Section 157  came into effect on 1 January 2019 by section (e) of Notice No. 169 of 2018, GG 41549, dated 29 March 2018]