The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) on Friday invited comment by November 30 on its proposed code of conduct on the determination of the Johannesburg Interbank Average Rate (Jibar).
The central bank initiated a review in 2011 of the processes and procedures related to the determination of domestic money-market reference rates‚ including Jibar.
This was done under the auspices of the Financial Markets Liaison Group (FMLG)‚ chaired by SARB deputy governor Daniel Mminele.
The SARB said the review process was initiated proactively as part of the normal work programme of the FMLG and its subcommittees‚ and was not triggered by any event or development in the domestic financial markets or as a result of any problems encountered or suspected.
Barclays Bank was fined over the London interbank offered rate (Libor) rate-fixing scandal.
Ratings agency Moody’s said more than 20 Libor-fixing cases were pending before Judge Naomi Buchwald in the Southern District of New York.
The South African review‚ which involved consultations with the commercial banks represented on the contributing panel‚ the JSE‚ Strate‚ regulators and the National Treasury‚ has been completed.
The review indicated that while there were no fundamental concerns around the Jibar determination process‚ certain aspects of the process could benefit from enhancements and formalisation‚ more specifically the governance process.
The code of conduct was published as a consultation document and inquiries‚ suggestions or comments are invited.
The SARB said it would consider all input and the process would culminate in an implementation paper‚ which would also contain the effective date for the code of conduct and related processes. - I-Net Bridge