The FSCA has issued FSCA FAIS Notice 85 of 2023 which grants an extension of the current exemption applicable to Compliance Officers regarding the minimum prescribed intervals of visits and reports to FSPs. The exemption which was first granted in 2017 and subsequently extended, has recently been extended again until 30 June 2026.
Conditions of Exemption
The exemption is subject to certain conditions which require that the Compliance Officer must:
- Conduct sufficient visits to an FSP’s business premises. The frequency and number of these visits must be determined by considering:
- The nature, scale and complexity of the business, the nature and range of financial services, activities and ancillary services offered;
- The FSP’s compliance risks having regard to the financial services, activities and ancillary services offered, as well as the types of financial products in respect of which the services are rendered and the market in which it operates;
- The availability and adequacy of off-site monitoring tools; and
- Off-site access to data of the FSP and its branches.
- Establish and implement a monitoring programme that considers all areas of the FSP’s financial services, activities and any relevant ancillary services, to ensure that compliance risks and changes to those risks are comprehensively monitored.
- Review the monitoring programme regularly, as well as ad-hoc when necessary, to ensure that emerging risks are taken into consideration.
- On a regular basis, report to the FSP on at least the following:
- The adequacy and effectiveness of the overall control environment for financial services and activities, including systems, policies, controls and procedures;
- The risks and deficiencies that have been identified; and
- The remedies undertaken or to be undertaken.
- Inform the FSP of the applicability of this exemption to the service.