Beneficial Owners of Financial Institutions: Draft Joint Standard Published for Comment

Posted 17 August 2026 Written by Acts Online
Category Financial Sector

Brought to you by SA Legal Academy: The Prudential Authority (PA) and the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) have published a draft joint standard establishing regulatory requirements for beneficial owners of financial institutions, as well as the institutions themselves.

Issued in terms of the Financial Sector Regulation Act, No. 9 of 2017 (FSRA), the draft joint standard is accompanied by a statement of need setting out the regulatory rationale for establishing explicit criteria and ongoing oversight standards for beneficial ownership across the financial sector.

According to the regulators, the draft standard aims to achieve the following objectives:

  • Improve transparency regarding natural persons who ultimately own or exercise effective control over financial institutions;
  • Align domestic regulatory standards with international anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) frameworks; and
  • Strengthen governance, fit-and-proper vetting, and risk management across supervised financial entities.

The authorities acknowledged that the proposed standard will introduce administrative and compliance cost implications for affected institutions. The public consultation process is intended to assist the regulators in quantifying these impacts and striking an appropriate balance between risk mitigation and unnecessary regulatory burdens.

Stakeholders and affected parties have been invited to submit written comments on the draft joint standard and accompanying statement of need by no later than 25 September 2026.

What this means for you, your business, or your clients

  • For yourself: Compliance officers, legal advisors, and company secretaries must review the draft standards to prepare for upcoming beneficial ownership disclosure and oversight obligations.
  • For your business: Regulated financial institutions must evaluate their current ownership registers and assess the administrative and financial cost of implementing the required identification and reporting processes.
  • For your clients: Institutional clients and ultimate beneficial owners of licensed financial entities must anticipate stricter vetting, verification requirements, and direct regulatory scrutiny under the FSRA.

Originally published at https://legalacademy.co.za/news/read/beneficial-owners-draft-joint-standard-out-for-comment

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