Banking Law in South Africa

Posted by Law Article on July 9th, 2009 at 08:52pm

Banking law in South Africa is effectively defined by the 1990 Banks Act and simply covers exactly what a bank is allowed or not allowed to do in the normal course of business.

There are a myriad of other complex bytes of legislation that pertain to South African banking law but these are often so multifaceted that expert advice is required from specialist banking law attorneys. Examples of added legislation that governs South Africa’s banking law are:

Leading Cape Town law firms offer a range of services pertaining to banking law, including advice on BEE specifications, advice on the acquisition of certain assets, leveraged and acquisitions finance, debt capital market and corporate bonds, structured finance, foreign representation, takeovers, insolvency and banking, and financial services regulation.

Although banking law varies from country to country, there are a number of instruments and requirements that are applicable across the board, including:

In this day and age when leading international banks are hitting the skids, the objectives of banking law are all the more important. There are five primary objectives:

1. To be prudent with a depositor’s money by reducing the risks bank creditors are exposed to

2. To avoid the misuse of banks by criminal elements

3. To protect the confidentiality of banking and banks

4. To direct credit to preferred sectors

5. To ensure systematic risk reduction

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