Why money is tight

[Graeme]

I draw cash several times a month from my Standard Bank Achiever Account and it costs me nothing. You just have to have the right account.

[sgafc]

"Banks are moving flesh towards a cashless environment as part of control expansion. The less physical cash supplied, the more Humans will have to rely on electronic means. It's all about controlling client behaviour. Cashing a cheque over the counter is probably one of the most expensive ways to get cash. Even the allocated fees are designed to deter this behaviour. Even depositing it and withdrawing from the ATM is cheaper. Don't be surprised when your banks no longer print paper based cheques. All transactions are to revolve around the chip ...you know what I mean....it's just the way it will be...wasn't my idea...."

I have no idea who said that....WTF?

My point exactly! I understand that banks never take any risk(while expecting customers to bear all of it). Cash is being sucked out of the system at a rapid rate. In December 2008, several banks in the Joburg CBD ran out of cash when customers drew their December bonusses, surely banks should have contingincy plans in place for events of that nature. Bottomline: What a bank have in cash, is far lower than what they have on their books as deposits!!!

[Frankincense]

The ultimate message : Banks do not want to rely on any cash at all - it's being erased for something more virtual (just like the difference in real money and "electronic" money)... and severe cash management of a multibillion rand bank is something to get rid of as soon as possible once the realities are manifest concerning electronic filing mainframes and coded flesh...I like calling them "data black holes"...they attract all!!!!!.....all transactions will be explicitly electronic soon...money is a string of code...1's and 0's....that is why electronic systems are being introduced. Just part of the strategy.....no matter what type of account you have...all; physical transactions are recorded electrically and will eventually be the only/easy way.....enjoy our historic paperbased cheques and cash while around....it will be gone soon....

[Dave A]

The portfolio managers are starting to prep their investors for the bad news.

Investors should prepare themselves for dwindling dividend payouts, Barnard Jacob Mellet Private Client Services (BJM PCS) said on Monday.

"Dividend yields from equities are at historical highs relative to government bonds, but investors should prepare now for the prospect of falling dividend payouts," the portfolio management company said.
full story from Business Report here

[Dave A]

This can't be helping:

The Gauteng government owes suppliers R1,7-billion in outstanding fees, provincial minister of finance Mandla Nkomfe said on Tuesday.

"Estimates indicate that there is currently R1,7-billion in outstanding payments," he told reporters in Johannesburg, adding that an operation was under way to ensure the money was paid.

"Operation Bhadala is the provincial government's initiative to ensure that all outstanding invoices for goods and services rendered and delivered are paid by the end of September this year," said Nkomfe.

A total of R342-million of payments had already been processed in the past three weeks.

"It is our firm belief that the operation will bring some much-needed relief in the effort to contribute to the sustainability of the SMME [small, medium and micro enterprises] sector," said Nkomfe.

"This difficulty basically arose at the end of last year, by October, November, and there were a number of reasons why we got into that situation."
full story from M&G here

How old is that book?
And will they be paying interest?

If you read the rest of the story - procurement controls look a bit shaky too. I hate to raise the issue of validating claims when it looks like valid ones haven't being settled timeously, but it does make you wonder.