Cape Town — The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has issued administrative sanctions on Bidvest Bank and the Johannesburg Branch of HSBC.
In a statement issued on Friday, the SARB imposed sanctions on Bidvest after non-compliance with provisions of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act 38 of 2001.
The Prudential Authority (PA) is mandated to supervise and enforce compliance by accountable institutions with provisions of the FIC Act.
“The administrative sanctions imposed on Bidvest Bank are due to its failure to comply with a provision of the FIC Act and consist of a caution not to repeat the conduct, which led to the non-compliance and a financial penalty of R5 million, of which R2.5 million provisionally suspended for 12 months,” it said.
The SARB said Bidvest Bank failed to comply with section 42 of the FIC Act.
ALSO: The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has imposed administrative sanctions on Bidvest Bank Limited (Bidvest Bank) as a result of its non-compliance with the provisions of the FICA. #SARB
— The Eazy Ed🌐 (@TheEazyEd) October 4, 2024
In another statement, the SARB said it had imposed sanctions on the HSBC Bank Pic – Johannesburg Branch for non-compliance with the same act.
“The administrative sanctions imposed on HSBC are due to its failure to comply with certain provisions of the FIC Act and consist of three cautions and a financial penalty totalling R9.5 million of which R4 million is conditionally suspended for 36 months,” it said.
The PA imposed three separate administrative sanctions on HSBC for non-compliance namely:
- Failure to comply with customer due diligence in terms of Sections 21 of the FIC Act, resulting in a R5 million penalty with R2.5 million suspended for 36 months
- Failure to comply with the FIC Act Directive 5 for failing to attend to automated transaction monitoring system (ATMS) alerts, resulting in a R1.5 million penalty.
- Failure to comply with section 42 of the FIC act for failure to implement its Risk Management and Compliance Programme (RMCP), resulting in a R4 million penalty with R1.5 million suspended for 36 months.
“The PA confirms that HSBC cooperated with the PA and has undertaken the necessary remedial action to address the identified compliance deficiencies and control weaknesses,” it concluded.
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
