SARB Repo Rate - South Africa South African Central Bank interest rate

South African Reserve Bank

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) is South Africa's central bank. The SARB's vision is based on maintaining the growth of the South African economy. The basis for this lies in the market system, competition, justice and balanced economic development. The mission of the South African central bank is to achieve and maintain price stability and protect the value of the currency, the rand. The SARB's monetary policy is based on an inflation target which usually works with a range of 3 to 6 percent on a rolling basis (CPI).

Overview of the inflation rates in South Africa

SARB Repo (interest) Rate

When reference is made to the South African interest rate this often refers to the Repo Rate. This rate is also called the base rate or the repurchase rate. In order to counter inflation, excessive growth of the available funds (money) must be prevented. To this end the commercial banks must keep interest rates at a level which prevents an excessive growth in bank lending. In order to achieve this the central bank sets the level of the repo (repurchase) rate, thereby influencing the interest rates that banks pass on to their customers for products such as mortgages, business and personal loans and savings. Changes in the Repo Rate usually also affect the exchange rate of the South African Rand.