A prohibited tie, for example, may be conveyed orally and not memorialized in transaction documentation. Our supervisory reviews indicate that banks generally understand and have implemented systems to ensure compliance with the anti-tying provisions to which they are subject.
The improvement in South Africa’s long-term foreign currency debt rating from BB (high risk, speculative grade credit) in 1994 to BBB+ in 2005 (investment grade rating), made South Africa’s debt much more attractive to the international investing community thereby contributing towards tighter spreads on South African debt.