This is a good example of how changes in the customer mix and profit drivers of an existing product can lead to unintended loss exposures if management information and accounting do not reflect the economics and risks of the product when it is altered.
In 1998, South Africa had gross reserves of just $ billion, but was running an oversold forward book and consequently had a negative net open foreign currency position (NOFP) of $ billion. This huge forward dollar commitment left the country in a precariously dangerous and vulnerable external position and resulted in our currency being deemed a one-way downward bet.