Reports that the Reserve Bank, the Treasury and the Department of Trade and Industry intervened in the National Credit Regulator’s (NCR’s) ham-fisted effort to slap African Bank with a R300m fine back in 2013 are surprising but not shocking. The NCR has been the focus of a territorial battle almost since the day it was launched. The view that it should fall under the Treasury gains support with every befuddled intervention by this regulator. There’s no doubt, given the huge levels of indebtedness in this country and the unscrupulous practices of so many lenders, that there is a desperate need for regulation. This is why there was much excitement back in 2006 when the National Credit Act came into effect, replacing the Usury Act. Sadly, there has been but much irritation about the way in which the NCR has overseen the implementation of that act. It may be that the NCR’s brief is too broad. Its responsibilities include education, research, policy development and investigation of compl...
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