The SARB, like many central banks that are not at the zero lower bound of their policy interest rates, used its balance sheet not to stimulate the economy but as a crisis management tool, in line with its financial stability mandate. We will continue to use these tools in the future in the same spirit if need be.
Another lesson from the COVID-19 crisis is that, unlike the great financial crisis in 2008 where inflation was high, which required interest rate hikes even as the crisis was unfolding, we entered the COVID-19 crisis with stable and low inflation rates, and moderate inflation expectations. This allowed us room to respond to the crisis quickly with significant interest rate cuts.