While, sadly, I do not have the pleasure of standing in front of you today − the COVID-19 pandemic is not allowing it this year − I am nonetheless confident that this conference will stimulate pertinent and challenging discussions. The pandemic has changed many aspects of our life in 2020, and interest rate setting is one of them.
The rate decisions taken by both the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) and its global counterparts in the past nine months are set in broad macroeconomic trends that have been in place for years, and which have made this speedy and sizable reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic possible. Now, will these trends remain in place in the coming years?