Introduction

Leselo is a wholly-owned IOB subsidiary, a Section 21 company formed to fulfil a role as a FSB-delegated examination body. The Leselo Board has been nominated and is representative of the industry.

Leselo is one of four examination bodies approved by the Financial Services Board in June 2009. ‘Leselo’ is the Setswana word for ‘winnowing’ or separating the chaff from the wheat, a very apt name for a body that will be responsible for examinations across the financial services sector. The chief purpose of the examination bodies is to develop the regulatory examination questions and to implement the regulatory examinations on a national basis.

The new Fit and Proper Requirements have introduced regulatory examinations as part of the competence requirements. All key individuals and representatives currently employed by financial service providers will have to write a minimum of two examinations: the level 1 examination (RE 1) will cover generic compliance while the level 2 examination (RE 2) will be product-specific. If you are a representative and deal with a number of financial products, you may need to write a number of examinations. The deadline for RE1 is December 2011 and for RE 2 the deadline is December 2013.

You will be able to register on-line or via a call centre. Once you’ve registered you will be able to write a short self-assessment to gauge your level of readiness. You will then be able to sit for an on-line examination or write a paper-based examination in any one of sixty-five centres across South Africa. Questionmark Perception is the software that will be used for delivery.

Exam bodies will not issue certificates but statements of results will be available to all candidates within ten to fifteen working days of having written the examination.

These are exciting developments within the financial services industry! The FSB and Leselo will make every attempt to keep the industry informed of progress. As an active member of the industry, it’s important that you keep abreast of all new developments as they happen, by monitoring the FSB and Leselo web sites on a regular basis.

It is also extremely important that you make every effort to write the examinations that apply to you as soon as is possible. If you wait until the last minute, you may have difficulty in finding a slot in a venue near you.

To Register

Leselo is currently working on an online registration application and this web site will be the portal for registration for the Regulatory Examinations.

You will be able to register from anywhere in South Africa to write an examination in any one of sixty-five centres. To do this, you will be able to see a schedule and identify a date and a site convenient to you. Mass registrations will also be possible for the larger organisations.

You will also be able to register telephonically via a call centre.

Payment can be electronic but other methods, e.g. using a credit card, will also be possible.

Once registered, you will be able to access an electronic self-assessment to gauge your readiness for the examination.

Results

Once you have written an exam, either on-line or paper-based, you will receive notification that your results are available on-line or via the call centre. You will be able to log onto the web site and print your statements of results which will act as proof that you meet the Fit and Proper requirements.

The appeals process

Should you not be satisfied with the outcome of the examination you have written you will be able to appeal against the result. The fee for appeals as well as the process for appeals will be available at a later date.

CPD requirements

Continuous professional development is a new Fit and Proper requirement. The Institute of Bankers will concentrate of providing FSB-approved CPD courses for the industry.

Valuable links

The Financial Services Board is the custodian of the FAIS Act and the Fit and Proper Determination. Click here for the FSB web site.

Should you have any questions relating to the Regulatory Examinations or any other issues related to the Fit and Proper requirements, please send your questions to fitandproper@fsb.co.za.

The Insurance Institute of South Africa is the professional body for the insurance industry. The IISA will be able to provide members with material relevant to the regulatory examinations. Click here for the IISA web site

The BANKSETA is instrumental in developing a comprehensive body of knowledge for RE 1 for the banking industry. This should be available by November 2009. Click here for the BANKSETA web site.

Contact us

Please email Daphne Hamilton on daphne@iob.co.za or Bahle Goba on bahle@iob.co.za for further information.

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