Treating customers fairly : a new name for existing principles?

Abstract: The meander of the South African financial industry, and in particular the issue relating to the inadequate protection that is currently being afforded to financial customers, is gradually becoming a growing concern. It is against this background that this dissertation examines the Financial Services Board’s “Treating Customers Fairly” (TCF) initiative as a regulatory approach that seeks to ensure that providers of financial products and services treat their customers fairly. This dissertation commends the regulator for actively contributing towards achieving a fair deal for consumers. The implications of embarking on a quest for fairness within the financial services industry is prone to result in financial stability and consumer confidence. However, this dissertation asks whether TCF has made the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act 37 of 2002 (FAIS Act) redundant and whether TCF appropriately explains the meaning of ‘fairness’. If the latter can be answered in the negative, then this dissertation argues that TCF will exist as a twee and trite regulation which will not only serve as a mere duplication of the FAIS Act but also as a value system which will inevitably amplify the confusion relating to ‘fairness’. The overall intention of this dissertation is to argue in favour of a properly integrated regulatory framework within the financial services industry. Shortcomings cannot be overcome by implementing what is essentially a foreign set of principles. Rather, the FAIS Act should be evaluated in order to see whether the TCF principles are not already part of our legislative framework.LL.M. (Commercial Law