Panel 1
Nichola Dewar, CFO of SA Postbank;
Anton de Wet, Managing Executive of
Client Engagements at Nedbank; Ayanda
Mjekula, Acting CEO at Ubank Ltd.
PHOTOGRAPHS SUPPLIED
‘…when correctly
applied and adequately
complied with, prudential
regulation should enhance
financial inclusion.’
continued their lending activities in general, including financing
BEE transactions worth over R80 billion since 2007.
According to the FinScope Small Business Survey (2002), only 39%
of the adult South African population had access to basic financial
services in 2002. Even while complying with the more rigorous
requirements of Basel II since its adoption in 2008, the number of
adult South Africans with access to banking services increased to
63% in 2011. South African banks extended over R175 billion for
low-cost housing, developmental infrastructure, SMEs and black
agriculture from 2004 right through the peak of the international
crises up until 2010.
It is only in South Africa that during times of worldwide financial
circumspection, talk of asset bubbles developing in the banking
system finds currency. With unsecured loans increasing at a rapid
rate since 2009 to over R50 billion today, some have warned that this
may lead to systemic instability, while others argue that it could
result in the abuse of clients by leading them to unsustainable levels
of over-indebtedness. Nevertheless, the problems South Africans
face are not a lack of lending, or impairment to financial inclusion.
The problem is the oversupply of credit to low-income people.
This coming from a fairly healthy South African banking system.
Financial inclusion in South Africa did not improve despite a
rigorous prudential framework; it improved because of it. South
African banks are healthy because they had to operate under
a strict prudential framework. We need only look at the events
unfolding across the Atlantic to see the effects of a lax prudential
framework to lending when it is needed the most. Therefore Basel
III should not be the impediment to BEE finance that it is made out
to be. Basel III should indeed enhance financial inclusion and BEE
finance. Empirical evidence in South Africa disproves the notion of
a negative causal relationship between prudent financial regulation
and financial inclusion. Evidence shows the opposite to be true.
Panel 2
Lowell Campbell, Head of Agent
Banking for Africa at Standard
Bank; Eric Silke, UNCDF.
Panel 3
Gerry Anderson , COO and Acting Deputy Executive
Officer: Market Conduct & Consumer Education at FSB; Ingrid
Goodspeed, Chief Director: Financial Sector Development for
National Treasury; Olaotse Mantshane, Managing Director of
Cooperative Banks Development Agency (CBDA).
Nkosana Mashiya is the Deputy Registrar of Banks: Banks Supervision
Department, SARB.
Edition 3
THE BANKER
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