Cape Town - Banks could be in for a tougher time when it comes to the fees they charge businesses and individuals, with the National Treasury's proposal to broaden the mandate of the Financial Services Board (FSB) to include regulation of market conduct by banks.
Finance Minister, Pravin Gordhan, revealed in his Budget Speech today that he hoped this would help tackle bank charges, stemming from Judge Jali's 2008 Enquiry into Competition in Banking.
This is among one of several measures that the National Treasury has mooted to transform the financial sector and legislation and bills are expected to be developed around these.
These measures include:
* Making it mandatory for all businesses that operate in the financial sector to be licensed or registered, while ensuring that institutions providing similar services be regulated by the same agency.
* Reviewing the yet-to-be renewed Financial Sector Charter, which parties are still negotiating over, to encourage micro-insurance policies.
* Setting up a new Financial Stability Oversight Committee, co-chaired by Reserve Bank Governor Gill Marcus and Gordhan, to ensure stability of the Reserve Bank.
* Co-ordinating financial regulation by formalising the Council of Financial Regulators.
The National Treasury would release two further discussion papers - one on regulation of foreign direct investment (FDI) and another on the prudential framework for institutional investors.
