S&P Global Ratings is reassured on Reserve Bank’s independence
S&P’s Gardner Rusike says the rhetoric about the Bank’s mandate is likely to remain just that — though there are other pressure points that could affect SA’s rating
The Reserve Bank is likely to remain independent and credible, despite recent rhetoric undermining its independence, says S&P Global Ratings. "We don’t see central bank independence or credibility being undermined, despite the rhetoric. We think it remains rhetoric," Gardner Rusike, associate director at S&P Global, said on Wednesday in Johannesburg. Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s recommendation that the constitutional mandate of the Reserve Bank be changed, contained in her June Absa/Bankorp report, at the time elicited a warning from S&P Global that attacks on the central bank’s independence would be negative for SA’s credit rating. The ratings agency downgraded the country’s foreign currency credit rating to noninvestment grade in April, following President Jacob Zuma’s Cabinet reshuffle. This negatively affects the country’s ability to borrow and the costs of borrowing. Rusike said monetary policy in SA remained stable. "We don’t see potential changes to central bank mand...
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