- The Tribunal dismissed a former ABSA employee’s attempt to challenge a REDS database listing.
- REDS is an industry database managed by the Banking Association of South Africa.
- The ruling confirms the Tribunal cannot review or interfere with REDS listings under the Financial Sector Regulation Act.
A former employee of ABSA Bank Limited has lost her bid to challenge her inclusion on the banking industry’s Register of Employees Dishonesty System (REDS), after the Financial Services Tribunal ruled that it has no jurisdiction to reconsider such listings.
On 10 July 2026, the tribunal dismissed an application brought by Luyanda Akhona Jack, who asked for a review of ABSA’s decision to put her on the REDS database.
Banking industry database at the heart of the dispute
The case focused on the Register of Employees Dishonesty System, or REDS, which is a central database managed by the Banking Association of South Africa.
According to the tribunal, the database records the names of banking sector employees who have been dismissed for dishonesty. It is used by employers as a resource when screening new hires.
Jack went to the tribunal under Section 230 of the Financial Sector Regulation Act, requesting it to reconsider ABSA’s decision to add her to the database.
The published decision does not reveal the reasons for Jack’s dismissal or why ABSA decided to include her on the REDS database. The tribunal focused only on whether it had the legal authority to review the listing.
Tribunal finds it has no jurisdiction
The tribunal said Jack’s application was incorrect in suggesting that she had been debarred by ABSA. After looking at the records, the tribunal concluded that she “was never debarred” under Section 14 of the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act.
The tribunal explained that the REDS database is an industry tool and that being listed on it “does not constitute a statutory debarment or a decision under the FSR Act.”
Because of this, the tribunal said it did not have the power “to reconsider, determine or interfere with a REDS listing.”
The ruling makes it clear that the tribunal’s power to reconsider only applies to decisions that fall within the Financial Sector Regulation Act, and does not cover industry databases like REDS.
Application dismissed
After finding the matter outside its statutory powers, the tribunal dismissed Jack’s application under Section 234(4) of the Financial Sector Regulation Act.
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