The growth of individual banks was increasingly related, by way of solvency and gearing ratios, to the amount of capital they were able to bring into play;  •  starting in the early eighties, the quantity, the quality and the diffusion of the information disclosed by banks to customers and the market were enhanced;  •  by the end of 1988 the shift from direct administrative instruments to indirect market instruments in implementing monetary policy had been completed;  •  in response to the need to place growing volumes of public debt with domestic investors, steps were taken to create efficient money and bond markets.
In terms of the interest rate channel, it is well known that South African bonds – and those of countries such as Brazil, India, and Mexico – have a strong correlation with US Treasuries, albeit inconsistent at times.