South Africa’s financial markets  South Africa is a small open economy by international standards. This in itself presents some challenges for the pursuit of price stability, not least of which is the nature of the South African financial markets. South African financial markets are relatively deeper, broader and more sophisticated than those in a number of emerging markets.
•  Lending rate of banks: Interest rates have trended down since early 2007 to around 8 percent now. •  Commercial banks’ private sector lending: Despite the credit ceiling imposed by the Reserve Bank, lending to the private sector has exceeded the credit ceiling due to special approvals given by the Reserve Bank for special investment projects.