It should be noted that the information presented on the South African banking sector is underpinned by different regulatory frameworks:

BA forms refer to the period subsequent to the implementation of Basel II on 1 January 2008. Information is presented in line with the regulatory frameworks in place at the time as follows:

• Basel II: 1 January 2008 – 31 December 2011
• Basel 2.5: 1 January 2011 – 31 December 2012
• Basel III: 1 January 2013 onwards

DI forms refer to the period prior to 1 January 2008 and the implementation of Basel II.

For background information on Basel II and Basel III, refer to South Africa's implementation of Basel II and Basel III.

Users of information presented on the South African banking sector should also note the following:

BA 100-series

The form BA 100 is a financial return and based on International Financial Reporting Standards. The forms BA 200 to BA 700 contain risk and other information. It is therefore not possible to reconcile all information contained in the different forms.

BA 200

The purpose of the form BA 200 is, amongst other, to provide an executive summary and overview of reporting banks’ exposure to credit risk. In this regard, the reader should specifically note the following definitions:

• Gross credit exposure - gross amount of credit extended, inclusive of on-balance sheet amounts, off-balance sheet items such as unutilised facilities, before the application of credit risk mitigation and any relevant conversion factor
• Risk weighted exposure - determined by applying prescribed risk weightings to on- and off balance sheet exposures according to the relative credit risk of the counterparty
• Impaired advance - advance in respect of which a specific credit impairment was raised

BA 300-series

The form BA 300-series has been amended in line with the requirements of Basel III.

The compilation of documents that forms Basel III is available at the following link: Basel III.

Read more about South Africa's implementation of Basel III.

BA 700

The form BA 700 has been amended extensively in line with the requirements of Basel III.

Basel III is a comprehensive set of reform measures, developed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, to strengthen the regulation, supervision and risk management of the banking sector. These measures aim to:

• improve the banking sector's ability to absorb shocks arising from financial and economic stress, whatever the source
• improve risk management and governance
• strengthen banks' transparency and disclosures.

The reforms target:

• bank-level, or microprudential, regulation, which will help raise the resilience of individual banking institutions to periods of stress.
• macroprudential, system wide risks that can build up across the banking sector as well as the procyclical amplification of these risks over time.

The compilation of documents that form Basel III is available at the following link: Basel III.

Read more about South Africa's implementation of Basel III.

Link to access the Total Banks data -  Aggregated DI and BA returns for the South African banking sector.