Strate
Supervision
Who we are
Strate Supervision is an independent division within Strate responsible for monitoring central securities depository participants (CSDPs) who are licensed to operate in the Strate environment. Strate Supervision reports directly to an independent regulatory and supervisory committee regarding the performance of this function.
Strate Supervision operates with the highest levels of confidentiality as it is privy to detailed knowledge and insight into participants’ operations. Supervision staff are bound by stringent confidentiality and code of conduct clauses and sign an annual declaration as confirmation of their understanding and adherence to these codes of conduct.
Confidentiality firewalls exist within Strate to separate the supervisory and central securities depository (CSD) or commercial functions performed by Strate. Strate Supervision is prohibited from sharing participant-related information with Strate’s operations divisions but no such restriction prevents Strate operations from sharing information with Strate Supervision, particularly if it is believed that a participant is in breach of the Financial Markets Act (FMA), or Strate rules and directives, or is introducing risk to the market.
Why we exist
Strate is a self-regulatory organisation as mandated by the Financial Markets Act No. 19 of 2012. Our role in respect of this is to develop processes, procedures and supervisory tools to monitor the adherence of regulated entities to the applicable legislative requirements, thereby minimising systematic risk and promoting transparency and efficiency in the market.
What we do
Strate Supervision is responsible for supervising and monitoring participants’ adherence to the FMA and Strate rules and directives.
This includes:
- Recommending the approval of new market participants to the Strate Board
- Monitoring the operations, systems and conduct of existing participants
- Monitoring compliance with the FMA, Strate rules and directives and, where breaches are identified, issuing fines to participants or instituting disciplinary against participants (where required)
Who we supervise
Supervision approach
Strate Supervision strives to set fair and credible processes with a low-to-medium intensity supervisory approach.
We use multiple supervisory tools to monitor participants, including accredited compliance officers that form a key link between Strate Supervision and participants, a risk-based participant monitoring model (PMM) that evaluates a host of external and internal information, including Strate settlements systems information, and other relevant data. On-site visits and desktop reviews allow Strate Supervision to engage directly with participants and obtain first-hand assurance regarding their levels of compliance.
Approved nominees
Click here to view all approved nominees operating in the South African financial market.
Complaints against a Participant
Anyone may submit a formal complaint to Strate regarding the conduct of a Participant , an officer or employee of a Participant, in terms of Strate Rule 15.1.
Complaints must be submitted in writing to the Head of Supervision by email to strate-supervision@strate.co.za or complete the form on our website here
The process is as follows:
- The Head of Supervision must acknowledge receipt of the complaint within seven days.
- The Head of Supervision must investigate all complaints received and resolve them within 90 days of receipt of the complaint.
- If the Head of Supervision is not able to resolve the complaint within 90 days, despite reasonable efforts, the Head of Supervision must report to the complainant, in writing, on the status of the complaint, and must continue to report to the complainant every 30 days until the complaint is resolved.
- Once the matter has been fully investigated and resolved, the Head of Supervision must respond to the complainant in writing on the outcome of the investigation and what actions have been taken to rectify the matter.
