The South African Reserve Bank : blowing winds of change (Part 1)

Abstract

Since the early twentieth century, the South African Reserve Bank ('SARB' or 'Bank'), a creature of statute, has functioned as the central bank of the Republic of South Africa (RSA). In this capacity, it has served and been subjected to the ever-changing needs and demands of the financial system in the RSA. These circumstances require a measure of flexibility, since the Bank needs to grow and change like a living organism in response to the needs and demands of the financial system and the economy it serves. This process of continuous evolution in response to the needs and demands of the financial system in the RSA is inevitable in order to ensure and maintain broadly based public support for the operations of the Bank. It is similar to other central banks that have evolved for centuries in matters such as their assigned tasks, their relationships to their respective governments, their interaction with financial markets, and their internal management and decision-making processes.