WATCH: Greylisting has a black and white economic outcome

SA’s looming potential greylisting by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is starting to receive the attention it deserves. The treasury has certainly upped the ante publicly along with several respected CEOs, including Sim Tshabalala of Standard Bank and Hendrik du Toit of Ninety One.

The consequences for the country, local businesses and ordinary South Africans would be dire, increasing the cost of doing business, weakening the country’s investment attractiveness and further cementing our decline towards ochlocracy.

This past week the Prudential Authority (PA) released its second banking sector risk assessment. It surveyed 34 lenders active in SA, including five large banks, nine medium to small locally controlled banks, 17 foreign-controlled banks and branches of foreign banks, and three mutual banks.

Michael Avery spoke to Rebecca Thomson, senior associate at Allen & Overy’s litigation, arbitration and dispute resolution practice; and Paul O’Sullivan, founder of Paul O’Sullivan & Associates (forensic and fraud investigation in SA).