Regulatory Alerts2008-05-11
Guidance Note 5/2008 on Electronic Communication with the Registrar of Banks
The South African Reserve Bank’s Registrar of Banks requires all banks, controlling companies, and foreign bank branches to submit official electronic correspondence exclusively to a centralized email address. Direct messages sent to individual staff members will no longer be registered or processed, thereby preventing mislaid documents and response delays. Institutions must return a signed acknowledgement of receipt from both the chief executive officer and independent auditors, while current telephonic enquiry procedures remain unchanged.
[Logo: South African Reserve Bank] From the Office of the Registrar of Banks
Confidential
2008-05-07 G5/08
TO ALL BANKS, CONTROLLING COMPANIES AND BRANCHES OF FOREIGN BANKS
GUIDANCE NOTE 5/2008 ISSUED IN TERMS OF SECTION 6(5) OF THE BANKS ACT, 1990: ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION WITH THIS OFFICE
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Banks Act Circular 6/2007 dated 14 November 2007 regarding consultation with banks, controlling companies and branches of foreign banks in respect of directives, circulars and guidance notes refers.
The purpose of this guidance note is to inform all banks, controlling companies and auditors of a bank or controlling company of the manner in which electronic communication with this Office should be conducted.
1. Introduction
This Office receives on a daily basis numerous official electronic messages (e-mail), which messages are addressed directly to individual staff members within this Office. This Office is concerned that official correspondence may not receive attention or get mislaid when the documentation is submitted directly to individual staff members. This Office is also concerned that the said practice may lead to undue delays in our response time and that the correspondence might not be registered properly within our central registry.
2. Guidance on electronic communication: new e-mail address
In the light of the concerns set out above, this Office has established a centralised e-mail address to which banks must submit all official correspondence.
All banks, controlling companies and branches of foreign banks are required to utilise the following e-mail address for the submission of all electronic enquiries and/or correspondence:
Please note that electronic messages that are sent to individual staff members within this Office, instead of to the above e-mail address, shall in future neither be registered nor processed.
PO Box 8432 Pretoria 0001 • 370 Church Street Pretoria 0002 • South Africa • Tel +27 12 3133911/0861 12 7272 • Fax +27 12 3133758 • www.reservebank.co.za
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3. Guidance on telephonic enquiries
Please note that the current single point-of-entry arrangement for telephonic enquiries remains in place.
4. Acknowledgement of receipt
Two additional copies of this guidance note are enclosed for the use of your institution's independent auditors. The attached acknowledgement of receipt, duly completed and signed by both the chief executive officer of the institution and the said auditors, should be returned to this Office at the earliest convenience of the aforementioned signatories.
[Signature]
E M Kruger Registrar of Banks
The previous guidance note issued was Guidance Note 4/2008 dated 7 May 2008.