Reserve Bank of South Africa

South African Reserve Bank

10 other official names: Suid-Afrikaanse Reserwebank  (Afrikaans) lBulungelo-mali eliKhulu leSewula Afrika  (Southern Ndebele) iBhanki enguVimba yoMzantsi Afrika  (Xhosa) iBhange-ngodla laseNingizimu Afrika  (Zulu) liBhangi lesiLulu leNingizimu Afrika  (Swati) Panka ya Resefe ya Afrika Borwa  (Northern Sotho) Banka ya Sesiu ya Afrika Borwa  (Sotho) Banka-kgolo ya Aforika Borwa  (Tswana) Banginkulu ya Afrika-Dzonga  (Tsonga) Bannga ya Vhukati ya Afurika Tshipembe  (Venda)
Logo
Headquarters	Pretoria, South Africa
Governor	Lesetja Kganyago
Central bank of	South Africa
Currency	R ZAR (ISO 4217)
Website	www.reservebank.co.za

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) is the central bank of South Africa. It was established in 1921 after Parliament passed an act, the "Currency and Bank Act of 10 August 1920", as a direct result of the abnormal monetary and financial conditions which World War I had brought. The SARB was only the fourth central bank established outside the United Kingdom and Europe, the others being the United States, Japan and Java. The earliest suggestions for the establishment of the Central Bank in South Africa date back to 1879. The select committee, consisting of the ten members of Parliament was established on 31 March 1920 to examine the benefits to the national interest of the establishing of the central bank.

Following on the recommendations of the committee, the South African Reserve Bank opened for business on 30 June 1921, making it the oldest central bank in Africa. The first banknotes were issued to the public by the Bank on 19 April 1922.

Unlike the Bank of England, which provided the model for establishing the SARB, the SARB is privately owned.

SARB has a board of directors consisting of a Governor, three Deputy Governors, and eleven Directors. The Governor, and Deputy governors are appointed for five-year terms by the President of the Republic of South Africa in consultation with the Minister of Finance. Four of the directors are also appointed by the President for terms of three years. The remaining seven directors are appointed by the Shareholders of the Bank, also for a three-year term.

The Reserve Bank is privately owned, with 2 million issued shares. The only limitation on shareholding is that no single shareholder may own more than 10,000 shares individually. Currently there are more than 660 shareholders owning shares in the South African Reserve Bank.

Shareholders are entitled a dividend of not more than 10 South African cents per share per annum (the total maximum dividend is therefore 200,000 South African Rand or a maximum of 1,000 South African Rand for any individual shareholder), with the remaining profits being paid to the South African government.

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Wikipedia