What is the Omni-CBR?
The Omni-CBR refers to the FSCA’s cross-sectoral Conduct of Business Return. The FSCA has published FSCA Communication 16 of 2022 and a roadmap for roll out and implementation of the Omni-CBR. A draft Omni-CBR template has also been published for public consultation with the intention of getting feedback from industry stakeholders on the content, operational impact and how to best implement the entire Omni-CBR.
The Omni-CBR is intended to facilitate streamlined cross-sectoral statutory reporting and sets out the types of conduct indicators to be reported on by various financial institutions in future
In line with this roll-out, the FSCA is embarking on a multi-year consultation and implementation process aimed at reaching a completion stage to have the Omni-CBR fully in place by June 2026. The Omni-CBR will be rolled out in four phases. The below table provides an overview of the different phases:
Details of FSCA’s Phase 1 industry engagement activities:
• Explanatory Webinars
FSCA has delivered three-part explanatory webinars, each of which detail the following:
Webinar Part 1: Provides context and regulatory background information to the development of the Omni-CBR and guidance on the navigation and use of the Omni-CBR template.
To view Webinar Part 1 – Click here
Webinar Part 2: Provides explanations on information requested in the ‘All sheets’ section of the Omni-CBR. The ‘All sheets’ request general information that must be completed by all industry stakeholders.
To view Webinar Part 2 – Click here.
Webinar Part 3: Provides guidance on ‘Additional Business Composition Sheets’ section of Omni-CBR which apply to financial institutions in certain sectors only and are aimed at obtaining information regarding specific risks and trends applicable to that sector.
To view Webinar Part 3 – Click here.
• Interactive Workshops
The FSCA has also hosted sector-specific interactive workshops for industry stakeholders to present questions, comments, concerns and suggest alternatives relating specifically to terminology used & types of indicators identified in the draft Omni-CBR template.
Submission of written comments
The publication of these documents signals the commencement of Phase 1 of FSCA’s multi-year consultation process and encourages all industry stakeholders to get involved and deliver written comments by 10 August 2022 using the FSCA’s comments portal.
What are we moving towards?
The Omni-CBR has been outlined in FSCA’s inaugural Regulatory Strategy (2018-2021), highlighted in FSCA’s Regulatory Strategy (2021-2025), it integrates components of the COFI Bill and other conduct indicators such as business composition, complaints handling, movement of money, conflict of interest, governance and additional benefits.
FSCA is moving away from ‘tick box’ reporting and towards a streamlined cross-sectoral statutory reporting mainly based on business conduct. To achieve this, the Omni-CBR was developed to set out the types of conduct indicators to be reported on in future.
Omni-CBR is to be used as an off-site monitoring toolkit which will eventually form the cornerstone of FSCA’s increasing focus on embedding an evidence-based and data-driven approach to regulation and supervision.
Does the Omni-CBR apply to me and/or my business?
Omni-CBR will be required by various financial institutions, including Banks, Collective Investment Schemes, Insurers and Micro-insurers, Investment Providers, Co-operative Financial Institutions (CFIs), Financial Services Providers (FSPs), Retirement Funds and Retirement Fund Benefit (13B) Administrators.
What happens next?
The Omni-CBR is new to us all but is important for industry stakeholders to inform themselves and to take action such as watching the webinars, attend the workshops, assessing the draft Omni-CBR template and presenting your questions and by submitting your written comments.
For more Omni-CBR information, contact Ms Juanita Smit (Juanita.Smit@fsca.co.za ) & copy FSCA_Omni_CBR_Comments@fsca.co.za
Masthead cares about your compliance
Masthead (Pty) Ltd will monitor the Omni-CBR roll out process and will be actively involved in gathering input from our members and testing the Omni-CBR template, with the intention of delivering commentary to FSCA.