A Directive, jointly issued by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) and the Prudential Authority(PA), reads:
“In order to complement the respective nationwide measures being put in place to contain the spread of COVID-19, it is necessary to issue specific directives to financial institutions to take appropriate precautionary measures when performing essential financial services in terms of the Regulations, in order to limit staff at offices to the minimum and to take other precautionary measures as set out herein.”
The Directive became effective on 9 April 2020 and will remain effective during the lockdown period including any extension thereof.
The precautionary measures to be implemented by financial institutions in terms of the Directive are extensive and (amongst others) include:
| ● | A head of a financial institution must, where that head determines staff as essential as contemplated in Regulation 11B(2) – Regulations made in terms of section 27(2) of the Disaster Management Act, 2002 (Act No. 57 of 2002 – endeavour to limit these members of staff to as small a number as possible and, as far as possible, enable remote working, including working from home to support essential services. |
| ● | A financial institution must take appropriate precautionary measures to reduce the risk of exposure, transmission and spread of the COVID-19, including to limit the number of staff required to be at offices in order to provide the relevant required essential financial services to a minimum and must put appropriate measures in place to promote minimum physical contact between staff. |
| ● | Furthermore, a financial institution must develop and implement an infectious disease preparedness and response plan that can help guide protective actions against COVID-19, which must include plans and policies aimed at compliance with this Directive. |
| ● | A financial institution must also identify a workplace coordinator who will be responsible for COVID-19 related issues and their impact at the workplace and for timeously responding to the Authorities upon request for information. |
Various specifics that financial institutions must adhere to, including housekeeping practices, are described and listed in the directive.
Click here to download the Directive. Kindly note that this is a directive, not a request, and should be adhered to in all respects
