Continuity amidst the change was crucial for the smooth transition to democracy and gaining international investor confidence. This led to President Mandela asking Dr Chris Stals to continue serving as Governor.
A critical pillar to this was ensuring that the SARB as an institution was stable, by retaining institutional memory and the requisite skills, while at the same time preparing 1/3  BIS central bankers' speeches  to transform the organisation. The SARB debuted its ‘Big Five’ banknote series, and introduced a R5 coin, commemorating the inauguration of our first democratically elected President, Nelson Mandela.