At the end of October 1997, the average weighted value of the rand was only marginally down from its level of 31 December 1996. Liquidity was initially drained from the money market after the foreign capital inflows subsided in February 1996, and the money market shortage gradually increased to reach a peak of more than R10 billion in March 1997.
The cash was sourced either from the National Pension Reserve Fund, a Sovereign Wealth Fund established by the Irish Government in the late 1990s at a time of fiscal strength, or directly from the Exchequer. The Promissory Notes represented a bespoke contract to pay a constant sum annually for about 13 years, with the fair value at issue equal to the needed capital amount.