Committees
BASA administers a number of committees and working groups that advises the association on regulations and legislation that affects its members. The committees are made up of representatives from member banks.
The Affordable Housing Committee strives to promote sustainable human settlements within the affordable housing market segment and to deepen penetration into the under banked market segment through engagement with private and public sector stakeholders. The Banking Association is a signatory to the “Social Contract for the Development of Sustainable Human Settlements dated 17 October 2014”, wherein key stakeholders, both private and public sector alike commit themselves to co-partner with the national Department of Human Settlements for the co-production of sustainable human settlements as envisaged within the National Development Plan 2030 vision.
The Committee seeks to promote a competitive, sustainable agriculture sector. It is an industry forum to discuss, deliberate on, influence and intervene in respect of institutional shortcomings and market/legislative inadequacies/gaps of a non-competitive nature which impact on a vibrant and competitive agriculture market and/or the provision of agricultural finance to the agriculture market. It actively seeks to collaborate with key private and public sector stakeholders to achieve these objectives.
The Committee is an industry forum to discuss, deliberate on, influence and intervene in respect of institutional shortcomings and market/legislative inadequacies/gaps of a non-competitive nature which impact upon property values/valuations and minimum property standards (residential, special use, commercial and industrial, agricultural property types) as this relates to the sustainability of a vibrant and competitive banking sector. Its primary focus is however residential properties.
The Committee endeavours to enhance the development of Corporate Social Investment (CSI) reporting guidelines/framework, efficiently communicate CSI industry issues and ensure comprehensive and appropriate Financial Sector Charter/Code reporting.
This Committee focuses on direct tax issues and assists The Banking Association South Africa in formulating industry positions or motivations for tax reforms within the various South African Revenue Acts, (including the Income Tax, Tax Administration Act and all subsequent Amendment Acts) which have a huge impact on financial services rendered by Financial Service Providers in South Africa.
The Committee seeks to promote discussions on issues relating to the Revenue Acts and assists The Banking Association in advocating for the interests of its members in ensuring that the regulatory and supervisory framework that is in place takes cognisance of the relevant issues. The Committee also infoluences the regulatory requirements where applicable.
The Committee aims to promote, co-ordinate and drive initiatives to enhance the legislative framework specifically in the field of market risk management and also facilitate discussion on best international practice as it relates to market risk management.
This Committee focuses on Indirect Tax issues (including VAT and Stamp Duty) and assists The Banking Association South Africa in formulating industry positions or motivations for tax reforms.
The scope of work allocated to this Committee includes sales and trading, corporate finance and asset management. The Committee focuses on the regulatory environment and mechanics of the market for trading debt, currencies, equities, derivatives and interest rate products.
The lead authority on the work considered by this Committee is the International Organization of Securities Commissions (“IOSCO”). The Financial Stability Board is the principal domestic stakeholder for this Committee together with the South African Reserve Bank and National Treasury.
The Committee will be expected to support other Banking Association structures on technical matters pertaining to other legislation where appropriate, not only react to legislation but also shape and influence legislation before it is released for public comment.
The Committee identifies those legal issues which will have an impact/influence on all the activities with which member banks are involved, i.e. legal issues from within the industry and also those issues influencing the legal environment within which the industry operates. Formulating appropriate recommendations and industry stances for The Banking Association South Africa to be proactive on the aforementioned matters.
The Committee aims to promote, co-ordinate and drive initiatives to enhance the legislative framework specifically in the field of operational risk management and facilitate discussion on best international practice as it relates to operational risk management.
This Committee is an industry forum to discuss, deliberate on, influence and intervene in respect of institutional shortcomings and market/legislative inadequacies/gaps of a non-competitive nature which impact upon a vibrant and competitive residential housing property market and/or the provision of housing finance to the residential housing market.
The Committee aims to develop SME guidelines and collaborative SME initiatives and strategic partnerships in alignment to the Financial Sector Charter and the BBBEE Codes of Good Practice targets and standards and ensure comprehensive and correct Charter reporting.
The Strategic Issues Committee aims to:
- Help formulate industry positions on social, political and economic challenges in the banking environment, which fall outside the scope of prudential and market conduct legislation and regulation.
- Proactively engage key stakeholders to build the credibility of the industry and trust in its institutions; while identifying material social and political risks to the reputation and business of banks. To this end, the strategic issues committee is kept up-to-date on prudential and market conduct regulation in the industry.
- Be a platform where banks can share best practice in stakeholder engagement, communication and strategic issue management.
Sustainable Finance Committee can be defined as the provision of financial capital and risk management products and services in ways that promote or do not harm economic prosperity, the ecology and community well-being. The Sustainable Finance Committee (SFC) comprises banks and other appropriate sectors in the financial industry. The Committee explores issues related to sustainable finance that can be addressed at the level of the financial sector.