The governance of macroprudential policy in South Africa

South Africa’s experience developing a macroprudential role for its central bank could yield lessons for emerging market central banks. An explicit mandate to maintain and enhance financial stability accompanied a re-defined prudential and conduct regulatory (‘Twin Peaks’) framework in the Financial Sector Regulation Act of 2017. Using a macroprudential lens and international comparative analysis, this paper goes further than previous analyses (largely by legal scholars) and reveals weaknesses in the governance design for macroprudential policy. We suggest changes in the design of institutions, processes, transparency, and accountability, to improve and future-proof South Africa's macroprudential policy-making.