#BUDGET2020: Mboweni Spells Out Three Big Dreams, With Little Detail

Thalia Holmes

Following a promise he made on Twitter in the week preceding the budget speech, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni was socially obliged to announce details about a state bank as he tabled the 2020 budget in parliament.

And history will show he made good on that promise, although the details remain sketchy.

“I am pleased to inform the house,” said Mboweni, “that preferred options for the establishment of a bank are now ready.”

The setup of the envisioned financial services provider will be like that of a retail bank operating on commercial principles, he said.

The state bank will be subject to national banking laws as outlined in the Banks Act. It will also have an “appropriate capital structure” and “performance parameters” on investments and loan impairments.

The announcement follows legislation passed last year allowing state-owned enterprises to apply for banking licenses.

Andrew Duvenage, managing director of NFB Private