Banks defend lending criteria amid accusations of discrimination

The government takes banks to task over what it sees as unfair lending practices, proposing mandatory disclosures of declined home loans.

Group disability benefits: ‘adapt or die’

Without a new approach to managing risk, group income disability benefits are headed for extinction and, in the retail market, only the rich will be able to afford these benefits, says Reinier van […]

Retirement benefit counselling has an impact on how much members take as cash

Proper counselling when employees change jobs or reach retirement makes a significant difference to the portion of their savings employees take as cash, but few employees are receiving this kind of advice, according […]

Prepare for two massive repo rate hikes, says commercial bank

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) will hike the repo rate by 75 basis points in both July and September – well above the consensus expectation, according to international banking group BNP Paribas. […]

Booster shot is particularly effective in protecting against severe Covid outcomes, says Discovery

Vaccination is less effective at preventing contracting the Omicron variant, compared with previous variants of Covid-19, but still provides excellent protection against severe illness and death, particularly if one has a booster shot. […]

Discovery Bank expands banking and lifestyle benefits

Discovery Bank this week announced the launch of an account with no monthly fees and a Vitality pay-as-you-gym option as it reached one million accounts since opening to the public in 2020. The […]

Conditions of Santam’s takeover of Indwe disclosed

The Competition Tribunal this month published the conditions it has attached to Santam’s acquisition of Indwe Broker Holdings (Pty) Ltd. In what amounts to a game of musical shares, Santam’s wholly owned subsidiary, […]

Sasria sets 10-day deadline for unrest claims

The South African Special Risk Insurance Association (Sasria) has set a 10-day deadline for the submission of claims related to the unrest in July last year. The 10-day term, effective from June 13, […]

NHI will be implemented gradually, says Health Minister

Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla says the government plans to implement National Health Insurance (NHI) incrementally and gradually phase out the role medical schemes play in funding private healthcare services, according to reports […]

Fix the issues, don’t fight them

There is a particularly apt old African saying: When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. In his opening address at the 2022 Board of Healthcare Funders annual conference, the Minister of […]

Sars defends its handling of VAT refunds and taxpayer disputes

The South African Revenue Service (Sars) has defended the way it handles VAT audits after this issue, as well as the time taken to resolve disputes, was raised by the Tax Ombud in […]

Santam flood claims hit Sanlam’s earnings

Sanlam has reported “a creditable performance” for the first four months of this year, with “strong results” in the life insurance and investment management businesses offsetting weak general insurance and credit business results. […]

King Price plans to ‘go big’ with life insurance

King Price Insurance plans to “go big” with its life insurance business in the next quarter and is expanding its footprint in Europe. Chief executive Gideon Galloway said the insurer has grown by […]

Finance MPs want action on Tax Ombud’s independence

Parliament’s finance committees have resolved that their respective chairpersons will engage directly with Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana on legislation to make the Office of the Tax Ombud (OTO) “more clearly” financially and operationally […]

Most respondents say they will adopt a D-I-Y approach when planning their retirement income

Most respondents who participated in the latest Just Retirement Insights survey believe it is important to set objectives based on their financial needs, but more than 60% said they intend to decide what […]

Discovery Life’s individual life cover pay-outs jump 173% in 2021

Discovery Life paid claims to the value of R11.79 billion last year, of which R9.1bn was for more than 10 000 individual life claims – an 89% increase in the value of individual […]

High Court lifts Thebemed curatorship

The Pretoria High Court lifted the curatorship on Thebemed Medical Aid Scheme on 27 May, the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) has announced. The regulator said it brought the application to lift the […]