The FSCA says it will engage with the financial services industry in the first quarter of this year on the implementation of its cross-sectoral Conduct of Business Return (Omni-CBR).
The Omni-CBR is intended to facilitate streamlined cross-sectoral reporting and will expand on the types of conduct indicators to be reported on by financial institutions, including banks, collective investment schemes, co-operative financial institutions, FSPs, insurers and micro-insurers, section 13B administrators and retirement funds, the FSCA said in a communication published on 22 December last year.
The FSCA planned to make an initial version of the Omni-CBR available for consultation by the end of 2021.
“However, to ensure alignment with several key internal and external developments, and to facilitate a more meaningful engagement process, a decision has been taken to delay the publication of the draft Omni-CBR until early 2022, the FSCA said.
“The Omni-CBR will form a key part of the FSCA’s off-site supervisory toolkit and reflects the FSCA’s increasing focus on embedding an evidence-based and data-driven approach to regulation and supervision as highlighted in the FSCA’s Regulatory Strategy 2021-2025. This approach will assist the FSCA to be more proactive and pre-emptive in promoting the embedment of good conduct and fair customer outcomes, and improving responsive to potential conduct risks, consistently across the financial sector.”
The FSCA is working on an Omni-CBR roadmap that will form the basis for industry engagement starting in the first quarter of 2022. The roadmap will comprise a package of documentation, including:
- Draft Omni-CBR template containing the list of conduct reporting indicators relevant to different financial institutions and financial products;
- Explanatory document providing guidance on the completion of the Omni-CBR;
- Background on the extensive local and international foundational work that helped inform the content and approach of the Omni-CBR;
- Proposed implementation milestones to facilitate an incremental phasing in of harmonised regulatory reporting through the Omni-CBR; and
- Details of various general and targeted industry consultation initiatives to solicit feedback on the content, operational impact and implementation of the Omni-CBR.
The regulator will communicate more details about the roadmap and the engagement process during the first quarter.
