Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. See the new laws, same as the old laws, only open today, hidden yesterday and tomorrow. See how the banks move miraculously like birds, or fishes, separately but together. (And the Auditors, and the Stock Exchange, and the Media)
_____ BusinessDay.gif 'Halting speculation' BASA lays down the 'Gupta' law Wire Staff, Business Day, Johannesburg, 14 April 2016 The Banking Association SA (Basa) on Thursday attempted to halt the "substantial speculation in the media" about the "withdrawal of banking services by individual banks from Oakbay Investments". Oakbay Resources and Energy, which is at the centre of the Guptagate storm over President Jacob Zuma's close association with the Gupta family, announced almost a week ago that nonexecutive chairman Atul Gupta and CEO Varun Gupta had resigned "with immediate effect" because of the bank's decision. In a leaked letter to staff, Oakbay Investments CEO Nazeem Howa said "the closure of our bank accounts has made it virtually impossible to continue to do business in SA, and added that "we are confident that through the family's decision to distance themselves from the business banking relationships will soon be restored". Separate but "Saam" The banking association stressed on Thursday that the decisions were "taken separately and independently by some banks to terminate their business relationships with Oakbay Investments", and said it was "incumbent on Basa to make the following points in order to stop such speculation": . Each bank's respective action was taken "with total respect for client confidentiality and all relevant regulations"; . "Banks are (among) ... the most stringently regulated businesses in the country because they hold public deposits in trust and must conduct business in a manner that does not introduce risks into the economy; . "Amongst the array of regulations banks must be governed by are those related to the current Financial Intelligence Centre Act (Fica), impending amendments to this act and anti-money laundering regulations; . "Clients of banks must also follow regulations related to these aspects, and it is incumbent on a bank to ensure its clients do abide by these regulations; . "These regulations make it incumbent on banks to conduct a detailed due diligence on clients, particularly those of a substantive nature and those that are in the public domain. Such due diligence is conducted on an ongoing basis to ensure the bank is aware of any significant changes in the affairs of the client, particularly to satisfy itself that a client is abiding by Fica regulations and anti-money laundering regulations; and . "A bank will take these matters into account when considering ongoing relationships with clients, and will take appropriate action, based on the circumstances." Basa MD Cas Coovadia said the association was moved to issue it points "to explain, in general terms, regulatory considerations banks would undertake in assessing client relationships". "Each bank will also consider its own business model, risk models and other matters specific to that bank's business in making such decisions," Mr Coovadia said. TMG Digital From: http://www.bdlive.co.za/business/financial/2016/04/14/basa-to-halt-speculati on-about-gupta-companies -- -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] . --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "YCLSA Discussion Forum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
