Internationally, the turbulence prevailing during 1997 and 1998 seems to have calmed down. Provided that there are no serious setbacks in the international economy, we are confident that real economic activity in South Africa should begin to recover.
And it is the most logical step to take. A single currency requires integrated financial markets and this includes the supervision of banks. Consequently, one of the pillars the banking union rests upon is a Single Supervisory Mechanism – that is European bank supervision for the largest banks. Centralising supervisory powers in such a way can foster a comprehensive and unbiased view upon banks.