Fundi Tshazibana: Monetary policy and financial markets in post-COVID-19 South Africa

Opening remarks by Ms Fundi Tshazibana, Deputy Governor of the South African Reserve Bank, at the JP Morgan Emerging Markets Credit Conference, online, 22 September 2020.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

1. Introduction

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for the opportunity to address this edition of the JP Morgan Emerging Markets Credit Conference - the first to be held online. In many aspects, 2020 has certainly been a year of firsts. In recent years, much of the concern about a halt in global growth has stemmed from concerns about the possibility of a recession in the world's largest economy, concerns that the escalation of trade tensions would result in a large reduction in global trade and investment, as well as concerns about geopolitical developments. But until now, never has there been such widespread concern around a pandemic that would change so many aspects of our daily lives.

The COVID-19 outbreak has had major health, social and economic impacts, which have required sizeable adjustments to policy. Monetary policy, unsurprisingly, has also had to respond to this once-in-a-100-years event.