Africa

IMF, EU back ECOWAS currency

Dr Michael Ojo, of the West African Monetary Institution (WAMI) told a press briefing at the weekend in Abuja that the IMF, European Union, ECB and the Bank of England are partners with WAMI in implementing the West African common currency.

SARB's inflation targeting made simpler

Changes have been made to the South African Reserve Bank's inflation target making the central bank's task easier, Governor of the SARB, Tito Mboweni said, reports Finance 24. In future it will target the year on year CPIX rate on a continuous basis,…

Mboweni sees bumpy road to African central bank

South African Reserve Bank governor Tito Mboweni has struck a cautious note on the idea of a single African currency, reports All Africa News. He pointed out in a recent speech that intra-continental trade was extremely disappointing, thereby making it…

SARB's Mboweni on African economic integration

In a speech on 'African economic integration' given on 9 October, Tito Mboweni of the South African Reserve Bank said that there is little doubt that there have been major changes in economic policy in many African countries in the recent past. Many of…

SARB cuts repo rate by 1.5%

With effect from Friday 17 October, reports Business Africa, the South African Reserve Bank will cut its main repo rate to 8.5 percent, Tito Mboweni said at the end of the two-day meeting by the SARB's Monetary Policy Committee on Thursday.

Mboweni against Africa's single currency proposal

SARB governor Tito Mboweni has said he is against the idea of the rand being adopted as Africa's single currency when the African Monetary Union is established, according to a report by SABC News. Mboweni said it would be much better to start afresh,…

Mboweni reviews the SARB and its activities

In the speech 'Review of the Central Bank and its Activities: 1998 - 2003. A Preliminary Assessment' given on 29 September Tito Mboweni of the South African Reserve Bank said that over the past five years many challenges were faced head-on by the Bank…

Mboweni calls for central bank independence

Speaking on Saturday 4 October, the Governor of the South African Reserve Bank Tito Mboweni said "It is absolutely important that monetary policy and the power to create money are entrusted to central banks". According to Marketplace News, he said…

Mboweni calls for clarity on SARB's duties on rand

Tito Mboweni has called for the South African Reserve Bank's constitution to be changed so that the central bank's objectives can be clarified, according to a report by Business Day. Mboweni insisted that the bank's primary objective was to achieve price…

Tito Mboweni addresses threats to inflation target

South African Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni said on Friday 26 September, according to Finance 24, that the SARB still had much to do to conquer inflation expectations in the country, which at between 8% and 9% were currently far higher than the…

SARB appoints Kruger as registrar of banks

Errol Kruger will replace Christo Wiese as registrar of banks in South Africa from 1 October, Dow Jones reports. As registrar, Kruger will be responsible for ensuring the soundness of banks and banking groups registered in South Africa.

African bank supervisors agree to up co-ordination

In efforts to harmonise supervisory practices, the Accra Mail reports, delegates from member countries at the Ninth Annual Meeting of Banking Supervisors from West and Central Africa agreed to forward their prudential regulations, current banking laws…

Mboweni on Inflation targeting in South Africa

In a speech on 'Inflation targeting in South Africa' given on 2 September, Tito Mboweni of the South African Reserve Bank said whilst inflation targeting is certainly no panacea, the Reserve Bank still regards it as the most appropriate framework for…

SARB to hold special monetary policy meeting

The South African Reserve Bank announced on Friday 5 September that it will hold a special monetary policy committee meeting on September 10, according to the Mail and Guradian. A statement from the Reserve Bank said that "major underlying trends in the…

SA Finance Minister on Mboweni's pay hike

South African Finance Minister Trevor Manuel has commented on central bank governor Tito Mboweni's 12% pay increase, according to Finance 24, saying that the matter could be taken up by the finance portfolio committee of the National Assembly.

SARB's Plenderleith on monetary policy in Africa

In the speech 'Is monetary policy different in Africa?' given on 29 August Ian Plenderleith of the South African Reserve Bank asks are the very evident differences between Africa and the developed countries, for example in economic and social structure,…

SARB plans overhaul of Bank Act

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has been working on new draft legislation for the past 18 months to replace the archaic SARB Act, Business Day reports. Bank governor Tito Mboweni said it would define the Bank's objective as being to achieve and…

SARB cuts interest rate by one percentage point

Tito Mboweni, South African Reserve Bank governor, said the committee had to strike a "careful balance" in determining monetary policy, according to allafrica.com, as he explained yesterday's one percentage point cut in interest rates.

Mboweni remains upbeat on inflation

Speaking at a press conference following the South African Reserve Bank's two-day Monetary Policy Committee meeting on Thursday 14 August, Tito Mboweni said that not only did the inflation outcome improve over the past two months, but the inflation…

Nigeria's Sanusi on efforts towards monetary union

In a speech on 'Ongoing efforts towards a monetary union in the West African sub-region' given on 1 July Dr Joseph Sanusi of the Central Bank of Nigeria said he was pleased to be given the privilege to brief Governors about on-going efforts to move…

Mboweni on Empowerment and the S African economy

In a speech on 'Empowerment and the South African Economy' given on 6 August Tito Mboweni of the South African Reserve Bank said that it is correct to say that ultimately the functions of the Reserve Bank are to make a contribution towards an environment…

South African central banker defies ex-comrades

In an interview with Bloomberg News, Tito Mboweni of the South African Reserve Bank said markets have begun to price in a fairly successful South African story. He claims not to be an ambitious person, but at only 44 still have a lot to do in life,…

Regional central bank unviable - Tito Mboweni

Tito Mboweni, governor of the South African Reserve Bank, said on Tuesday 24 June "We have agreed we will do some research on what the feasibility is of a common central bank for South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland and Namibia", according to Reuters…