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Thread: A peek inside the SA Reserve Bank

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    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    A peek inside the SA Reserve Bank

    I didn't know the SA Reserve Bank had public shareholders! This is quite a revealing story on aspects of what is going on at the SARB.
    The attitude of one of the shareholders at the South African Reserve Bank's 88th ordinary annual general meeting (AGM) was racist, Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni said on Thursday.

    "I shall not permit you to talk to me like whites used to talk to blacks," Mboweni told shareholder Mario Pretorius.

    Pretorius twice told Mboweni he wanted to bring a point of order to the meeting, and when he was not acknowledged he said: "Shocking," which prompted the governor's response.
    Mr. Pretorius is right. The chairman of a meeting ignoring a call on a point of order is... out of order!
    Another shareholder, Michael Duerr, told Mboweni he wanted to bring to shareholders' attention the failure to circulate to shareholders important items of special business proposed and on the agenda.

    "The omission is deliberate," Duerr said.

    Mboweni found Duerr out of order.

    After the meeting, Duerr -- who holds 5% of the Reserve Bank's shares --issued a press statement claiming that, since 1920, the influence of shareholders at the bank had been gradually and drastically inhibited.

    Duerr said the meeting should have been abandoned to give shareholders proper notice of the special business to be discussed as part of the AGM. That business included a discussion of flagrant contraventions by SARB employees.

    It appeared these had not been investigated and that no action had been taken "despite these matters having been brought to the attention of the board".

    Duerr -- who is a German national -- said he would call an extraordinary general meeting as he was not allowed to speak at Thursday's meeting.

    A shareholder must hold 10% of voting shares to call an extraordinary meeting, according to Johann de Jager, legal counsel for the Reserve Bank, who addressed the media at a briefing following the AGM.

    He said Duerr wasn't permitted to vote at the AGM because the Reserve Bank held the view that he was not a permanent resident of the country.
    full story from M&G here
    Straight out of the book on How to lose financiers and piss of people, by the looks of things.

    Apart from raising some really questionable behaviour issues, this story has got me asking - what is the role of the shareholder in the SARB?

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    i feel this country is becoming more of a raciest country than even in the appartheid days...from both sides...i have been disriminated against more than ever and as for the adverts on TV always portraying white middle aged males as dumb nerds...i just wish i could find some of these bright educated cool black dudes i have pletty work opitunities for one of them...especially if they have a "recognised trade" and just a little savy

    i know there is handful of them out there... but they have all been snapped up for TV ads

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    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    Yeah yeah. Same o. Maybe we should start a racism thread.

    But let's hone in on the Reserve Bank itself here. The thing that fascinates me - I would have expected government to be the sole shareholder for something like the Reserve Bank. I wonder if a list of major shareholders and their interest is publicly available?

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    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    Just goes to show - you get what you look for. I've come across this report which sheds some light on the topic.
    Why own a stake in a policy body?
    September 19, 2008

    By Ethel Hazelhurst

    The Reserve Bank is one of only nine privately owned central banks. Shareholders are limited to 10 000 shares each and are allowed one vote for each 200 shares they hold.

    Shareholders include banks and other large corporations, as well as individuals.

    The bank, which was founded in 1921 and listed on the JSE in 1922, delisted in 2002. Shares are traded privately.

    After payments to reserves and dividends of 10 percent of paid-up capital, surplus earnings are paid to the government.

    As dividends are negligible, the incentive for owning shares is that they give shareholders access to documents and data not readily available to the public. Holding shares is also perceived as conferring prestige on the holder.
    full story from Business Report here
    All the more reason to treat shareholders with a little respect, I'd think.

    Thanks Ethel.
    Last edited by Dave A; 19-Sep-08 at 09:12 AM.

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    I am positive that there are many South African today, as we were! that are stunned at the news that the Reserve Bank has private shareholders!

    Yvonne

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    Bronze Member Sieg's Avatar
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    Michael Duerr & the SA Reserve bank

    Noseweek carried an article on Herr Duerr's duel with his eminence, Governor Tito Mboweni, in its March 2008 edition.

    http://www.noseweek.co.za/article.ph...t_article=1657

    Sieg

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    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    I see Mario Pretorius isn't taking the racist remark lying down.
    A letter asking Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni to apologise for accusing a shareholder of speaking in a racist manner at the bank's general meeting has been sent to his personal lawyers to deal with, his spokesperson said on Tuesday.

    The letter -- from a shareholder's lawyer -- was sent to the bank on Friday following a comment made by Mboweni to shareholder Mario Pretorius at the annual meeting on September 19.

    According to the letter, Pretorius asked Mboweni at the AGM to bring the meeting to order. Mboweni apparently refused, and Pretorius responded by saying "shocking".

    “I shall not permit you to talk to me like whites used to talk to blacks", Mboweni was reported to have said.

    Pretorius, through his lawyer, Johan van Huyssteens, requested a public apology for the accusation that he spoke to the governor in a racist manner.

    The letter states that Mboweni should withdraw his statement and apologise unconditionally by way of a letter and a statement in the media.

    Should Mboweni not act by October 3, Van Huyssteens said Pretorius would institute a claim against him and the South African Reserve Bank for R1-million.

    "Should your unsolicited branding of our client as a racist negatively influence his business, he obviously reserves the right to claim further damages from you [Mboweni] and SARB," the letter stated.
    full story from M&G here
    Anyone else think Mario stands a better chance getting a cheque than getting a public apology?

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    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    As predicted...
    South African Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni did not apologise on Friday for an allegedly racist jibe he is accused of making to a shareholder at the bank's September 18 annual general meeting.

    Instead, he denied the allegations in a letter written by his lawyers to shareholder Mario Pretorius.
    full story from M&G here

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    With tapes of this on the news every night, what does everyone think? Did Mboweni act in a racist manner?

    To me, he might not have handled the matter in the best way possible, but it feels like Pretorius is making a mountain out of a molehill. Suck it up and get on with life, nobody would have even known what happened in that meeting if it wasn't for this complaint. What do you guys think?
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    Sorry, but what's good for the goose is good for the gander! It's just my perception but under the current government the racist card is plucked out at every conceivable opportunity. When the opposition makes an issue over a wrongful accusation it's either "I was quoted out of context" or "I categorically deny ever saying that".

    It's high time they stop hiding behind a racist excuse and take justified critisism on the chin like a man!!

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