4 is today’s Number of the Day.
That is the number of international banks that may still face investigation in South Africa’s long-running alleged rand manipulation case, after local banks were cleared.
Gareth Edwards and Francis Herd unpack the Constitutional Court ruling, the Competition Commission’s case and why the matter is not over.
Francis explains that the courts found there was not enough evidence against local banks including Standard Bank, FirstRand and Nedbank. That means South African banks are now off the hook. But four international banks remain in focus.
The conversation then turns to the harder question: how does rand manipulation actually work?
Francis explains that the dollar-rand exchange is deeply technical, with trades moving at extreme speed. The allegation is that traders used chatrooms and coordinated timing around currency trades between 2007 and 2013.
Gareth asks the question many South Africans may be thinking: if this happens inside a market that moves every millisecond, how do you prove it?
4 banks. Local banks cleared. A rand case still alive.
Catch up on all Number of the Day episodes here: https://www.enca.com/number-day-podcast
Chapter List
(00:00) 4 Is The Number
(00:09) Who Are The Four Banks?
(00:12) Local Banks Cleared
(00:21) Four Banks Still Standing
(00:39) The Case Since 2017
(00:59) Not Enough Evidence
(01:20) Constitutional Court Agrees
(01:31) How Rand Manipulation Works
(01:44) The Dollar-Rand Exchange
(01:55) Trades Every Millisecond
(02:17) The Chatroom Allegation
(02:24) Two Banks Paid Fines
(02:47) Timing The Trade
(02:59) Why Collusion Matters
(03:14) Standard Bank’s Defence
(03:51) Exact Trades, Exact Times
(04:26) Why One Cent Matters
(05:29) The Rand Rate Hits Real Lives
(05:48) Imports Are Affected
(06:09) Can SA Investigate Global Banks?
(06:16) The Jurisdiction Problem
(06:24) Offshore Trades
(06:48) The Commission Can Still Pursue Cases
(07:01) The Case Continues
(07:09) Four Global Banks Still Accused
