It is my pleasant duty to also point out that South Africa's government finances are in a healthy shape, with tax revenue again exceeding earlier projections and the deficit before borrowing for 2002/03 now projected to amount to only 1,6 per cent of GDP. Less pleasant to point out are the setbacks to our banking system in early 2002.
One troubled bank's business was eventually sold off to other institutions, while a second medium-sized bank was acquired by one of the big four banks. This episode tested numerous depositors' and bankers' nerves to the extreme; many elderly investors now choose to keep their deposits with more than one institution, which is a wise move. 4.