Recent Developments Concerning The National Credit Act

National Credit Regulator withdraws approval of Credit Industry Codes of Conduct

On 30 November 2012 the National Credit Regulator (NCR) published a Notice of Intention to Withdraw Approval of the Credit Industry Codes of Conduct (the Notice)¹.

In the Notice, the NCR states that a review of the various industry codes was recently undertaken. The codes in question are:

• the Code of Conduct of Credit Providers to Combat Over-Indebtedness;
• the Debt Counsellors' Code of Conduct for Debt Review; and
• the Payment Distribution Agencies' Code of Conduct for Debt Review

(collectively, the Codes).

The Notice states that the NCR's review has determined that the Debt Counsellors' Code of Conduct for Debt Review, among other things, lacked accountability with regards to implementation, monitoring and reporting; was unconstitutional; and conferred excessive jurisdiction on the Credit Ombud.