Cosatu has come out in strong support for a proposed bill to provide debt relief for the overindebted. The draft bill — the National Credit Amendment Bill — has been introduced by Parliament’s portfolio committee on trade and industry which is holding public hearings on the proposals. The banking sector is opposed to the proposals, saying that individual banks have their own effective debt relief measures and that a blanket approach will have negative consequences for the sector and result in a restriction of credit extension to low-income groups. These concerns were reiterated by Standard Bank’s head of credit risk in personal and business banking, Thabani Ndwandwe, on Friday during the public hearings. He argued for a reform of existing debt intervention mechanisms and stronger enforcement. The group targeted for debt relief by the bill are those earning a gross monthly income of not more than R7,500 who have no readily realisable assets (excluding exempted items mentioned in the ...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.