This means that the stock markets' expectations for economic growth have been declining. While corporate scandals in the United States related to accounting rules and delayed structural reforms in Europe may also have had some effect on investors' sentiment, intensified global competition seems to have contributed to the cautiousness of corporate behavior.
Loans and advances grew continuously over the past decade, from R270.8 billion as at end Dec 1994 to R 1.104 trillion as at end October 2004. Domestic deposits from the public remained the main source of funding for the banking sector over the past ten years and amounted to R888 billion in October 2004 (as opposed to R241.9 billion as at end December 1994).