Who is on an account
The Counterparties panel answers one question. Who is attached to this account, and in what capacity?
Each row is one counterparty, in one named part, over a date range. Two people on the same loan are two rows. There is no separate kind of account for that — joint is simply more than one owner.
This is the account’s side of the link. The counterparty’s side — “what does this person hold with us?” — is finding a counterparty’s accounts.
The panel appears on account types that have counterparties. An internal account, such as a suspense account, has none, so it carries no panel.
What the panel shows
| Column | What it means |
|---|---|
| Counterparty | The number, with the name beneath it as a link. Primary marks the servicing party |
| Role | The part this counterparty plays on this account |
| Clearance | Where due diligence stands for this counterparty |
| Liability Basis | Whether they answer for the whole debt or for a share of it |
| Share | Their share of the account, where one is recorded |
| From | The date the role starts |
| To | The date it stops. Blank means it is still running |
Rows are sorted with the servicing party first, then by start date.
A role that is not running today is hidden. Select Show ended to bring the whole history back, and Hide ended to put it away again.
Clearance is filled in only for an owning row that is running today, and only where your organisation runs due-diligence checks. Anything else shows a dash. The checks themselves are covered in counterparty clearance.
Which roles a product allows
The roles are not a fixed list. Your organisation configures a vocabulary of roles — borrower, investor, holder, disbursement recipient — and then each account type declares which of them it uses.
For every role it names, an account type states three things.
| It states | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| A minimum | How many of that role an account must have before it can be opened |
| A maximum | How many it will accept. Where none is stated, there is no ceiling |
| Which one is servicing | Exactly one role across the account type is the servicing role |
Add offers only the roles this account type names. A role the type does not use is never on the list, so you cannot reach a dead end on save.
The practical effect is the joint capability. A home loan that asks for at least one borrower and sets no ceiling takes a second borrower, and a third. A disbursement account that asks for exactly one recipient refuses a second.
The servicing party
One row carries the Primary badge. That counterparty is the one the account is serviced through, and it is the name every other screen shows as the account’s owner.
Several things anchor on the servicing party, and only on them.
- Statements are issued to them. See statements.
- Arrears are chased from them. See chasing arrears.
- Debit orders and standing orders resolve against them. See collecting by debit order.
The Primary row offers no End, so the account never loses the party statements, arrears and debit orders resolve against. The badge itself does move, in one of two ways: Make primary hands it to another owner who stays on the account, and Transfer to another counterparty replaces the primary party outright. Both are covered in changing who the account belongs to.
The badge carries a note explaining this, so a clerk who reaches the row does not have to know it already.
Owning roles, and what follows from one
Every role is either owning or not, and your organisation decides which. An owning role says this counterparty owns the account, or owes on it. A role that only lets somebody act on the account — a signatory — is not owning.
The distinction decides a great deal.
| Owning role | Any other role | |
|---|---|---|
| The account appears on their Accounts panel | Yes | No |
| Their exposure counts the balance | Yes | No |
| They must be cleared before the account activates | Yes | No |
| They get their own credit bureau record | Yes | No |
| A large cash movement is reported against them | Yes | No |
| They may move money between accounts they own | Yes | No |
Two of those are regulatory, and both follow the same principle: a legal person is reported on individually. Clearance before activation is the FICA 38 of 2001 obligation, so a joint account does not activate until every owning party is cleared, and the refusal names the one who is not. A bureau submission carries one record per owning party, each with its own identity details, under the SACRRA layout.
Joint ownership
More than one owning role makes the account jointly held. Three things follow.
- The account is listed for each owner, marked Joint on their list.
- It is counted once in a portfolio total, not once per owner.
- Each owner is exposed to the whole balance.
That third point is the one to be sure of. Liability Basis and Share are recorded facts. Neither one divides the exposure figure. Two joint and several borrowers each carry the full balance, which is the conservative and correct treatment for retail joint lending. Where regulatory deposit cover is split between holders, Share is the figure that splits it.
Worked example
Alex and Sam hold a home loan of ZAR 1,200,000 with Woodgrove Bank. Alex is the servicing party. Both are borrowers, and Woodgrove marks the borrower role owning. Jordan is a signatory, which Woodgrove does not mark owning.
| Whose view | What they see |
|---|---|
| Alex | ZAR 1,200,000, flagged joint |
| Sam | ZAR 1,200,000, flagged joint |
| Jordan | Nothing. A signatory operates the account, they do not owe on it |
Sam’s account list carries the loan with a Joint marker, and the Owner column on that row still reads Alex. Woodgrove’s portfolio total counts the ZAR 1,200,000 once.
Adding a counterparty
- Open the account and select the Counterparties panel.
- Select Add.
- Choose the Counterparty.
- Choose the Role. Only roles this account type uses are offered.
- Fill in the fields the role adds — a liability basis, a share.
- Select Add.
The role starts on today’s trading date. This panel does not back-date a joiner.
Adding a counterparty can be sent for a second approval, like any other change to the account. See countersign.
When adding is refused
Nothing is part-saved. The account is exactly as it was before.
| What the message says | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The counterparty does not hold a named role | The account type requires its owners to hold a particular role with you, and this counterparty does not | Grant that role, then add them again. See counterparty roles |
| An active role already exists | This counterparty already plays this part on this account | Select Show ended — the row is there, running |
| The account type permits at most so many | The ceiling for that role is already reached | End one of the existing roles first |
The first of those is deliberate. The role is not granted for you, because it also feeds regulated reporting, and it must not move as a side effect of an account screen.
Ending someone’s role
- Select the actions menu on their row.
- Select End.
- Choose the Effective to date, or leave it blank for today’s trading date.
- Select End role.
The role runs until that date, not from the moment you save. A role ended for next month still counts today. The person stays on exposure, stays reportable, and stays on their own account list until the date arrives.
The row then stays on the panel with a To date. It is history, not a deletion, so the trail behind old statements and old reports survives.
End is offered only on a row that is running today, is not the Primary row, and sits on an account type that permits more than one owner. To take the primary party off, transfer the account instead.
If the same person rejoins the account later, add them again in the same role. The account keeps one continuous record of their comings and goings, rather than starting a fresh one.
Ending a role does not close the account and does not undo anything already posted or reported.
What the panel does not do
- It does not change a liability basis or a share once the role is running.
- It does not back-date a joiner, a leaver, or a change of primary. Everything here takes effect on today’s trading date.
For a change that needs either of those, the roles have to be set as the account is opened.
Changing who the account belongs to
Two actions move the Primary badge, and which one you want depends on whether anybody is joining or leaving.
| What happened | Use | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Both owners stay, but the other one should be primary | Make primary | Moves the badge. No role starts or ends |
| One owner is replaced — a death, a sale, a merger, a mis-keyed owner | Transfer to another counterparty | Ends their holding today and starts the new party’s today, in one step |
Both take effect on today’s trading date and neither offers a date field. The account belonged to the outgoing party until the day you act, which is the truth: the bank acted on the day it acted.
Make primary
- Select the actions menu on the row of the owner who should be primary.
- Select Make primary.
- Read what moves, then select Make primary.
Only an owner can be primary. A guarantor or a signatory is not offered the action, and naming one is refused.
Transfer to another counterparty
Transfer is offered on every owning row, the Primary row included — that row cannot be ended, but its counterparty can be replaced. It is the action for a deceased estate: the estate replaces the deceased’s row, and a joint holder’s own row is untouched.
- Select the actions menu on the outgoing owner’s row.
- Select Transfer to another counterparty.
- Choose the counterparty taking over.
- Read what moves, then select Transfer.
On an account type that permits exactly one owner, Transfer is the only action offered. Add, End and Make primary are hidden, because none of them can succeed where there is no room for a second owner — so a single-holder account can still change hands, in one step.
What moves with the account
Before you confirm, both dialogs name the limit utilisation that will move. The account’s utilisation comes off the outgoing party’s credit limit and facility and goes onto the incoming party’s, on the day you act. See credit limits and facilities.
Before a transfer will run
Assign the incoming counterparty the role the account type requires, first. A newly created estate counterparty holds no roles at all, so the transfer is refused until somebody grants one. That is deliberate — the role feeds regulated reporting, and it must not be granted as a side effect of an account screen. Do it on the counterparty, before the transfer. See counterparty roles.
When a change of owner is refused
Nothing is part-saved. The account is exactly as it was before, and no role has started or ended.
| What the message says | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Only an owner can be primary | The counterparty named holds no owning role on the account today | Add them as an owner first, or use Transfer instead |
| The counterparty does not hold a named role | The account type requires its owners to hold a particular role with you | Grant that role on the counterparty, then transfer again |
| The incoming party has no credit limit / no facility | They hold nothing for the account’s utilisation to move onto | Approve a limit or facility for them first |
| Insufficient credit limit / facility | What the account uses is more than they have available | Increase their limit, or choose a different counterparty |