Rand manipulation claims 'false’– Standard Bank

Standard Bank has rejected claims it was involved in rand manipulation. The bank is among the foreign and local banks that competition authorities are investigating, Fin24 reported.Standard Chartered, an unrelated bank, recently reached a R42.7 million settlement with the Competition Tribunal after admitting misconduct.Standard Bank has rejected claims that it has been involved in rand manipulation, labelling the allegations as "false and inaccurate."The bank is among two-dozen foreign and local banks that competition authorities are investigating over allegations of manipulating the value of the rand exchange rate between 2007 and 2013.One of the banks, Standard Chartered, recently reached a settlement of R42.7 million with the Competition Tribunal. In turn, Standard Chartered has agreed to provide evidence against other banks.Standard Chartered and Standard Bank are separate entities.In a statement, Standard Bank raised concern over "false and inaccurate comments" in some media and on social media platforms related to the ongoing investigation.PegMarket Watch recently reported that the manipulation of the rand exchange rate by commercial banks in South Africa, to which the Namibian dollar is pegged, could have serious implications for the stability of the domestic financial system.According to Bank of Namibia’s (BoN’s) spokesperson Kazembire Zemburuka, exchange rate manipulation can have a significant adverse effect on financial stability, trade relations, market confidence and economic growth. The manipulation of any currency often allows the perpetrators the opportunity to harvest unfair profits to the detriment of the citizens, public and corporate sectors. Manipulation further alters the normal functioning of currency markets, making it even more challenging to forecast foreign exchange movements for the purpose of business planning and trade.Furthermore, manipulation has potential to interfere with monetary policy implementation, as the impacts are transmitted through the inflation pass through channel albeit indirectly in the case of Namibia, he added.The loopholes which gave rise to such malpractices have subsequently been closed. The Bank of Namibia believes it is such swift actions that will continue to maintain and restore public confidence in the functioning of the currency markets, and the financial sector as a whole, Zemburaka said.Namibian Sun recently reported that Namibia has no immediate plans to delink its currency from the South African rand, as this would have a devastating impact on the domestic economy.-phillep@nmh.com.na-Additional Reporting by Fin24

Rand manipulation claims 'false’– Standard Bank

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-21

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Rand manipulation claims 'false’– Standard Bank

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-21

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