South African Reserve Bank
The South African Reserve Bank's monetary policy committee will meet once again next week - and there could be GOOD news for those in debt. Image: Pexels

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Prediction: Interest rate announcement expected next week

The South African Reserve Bank’s monetary policy committee is scheduled to meet again next week, with the possibility of positive news for individuals in debt.

14-09-24 07:58
South African Reserve Bank
The South African Reserve Bank's monetary policy committee will meet once again next week - and there could be GOOD news for those in debt. Image: Pexels

The South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB) monetary policy committee (MPC) is set to meet again next week, potentially bringing positive news for those with debt.

The MPC is widely expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points (bps).

The meeting is scheduled for Thursday, 19 September with the announcement due shortly after 15:00.

As a reminder, the repo rate currently stands at 8.25% and the prime lending rate at 11.75%.

The MPC has hiked interest rates by 475 bps since 2021, despite keeping the rate unchanged for the last seven meetings.

The current repo rate of 8.25% represents a 15-year high (since 2009) and has had South Africans struggling to finance their debt.

Encouragingly, while four members of the MPC voted to keep rates unchanged at the most recent meeting in July, two at the time already voted for a 25 basis point cut. 

The MPC meets every second month.

The SARB’s final meeting of the year will take place on Thursday, 21 November, where, according to BusinessTech, another 25 basis point cut is potentially on the cards.

SARB MPC MEETING DATES FOR 2024

MonthDate
January25 January
March27 March
May30 May
July18 July
September19 September
November21 November

Reminder of monthly bond repayments

The South African website’s helpful table below shows the current monthly bond repayments on various bond values assuming no deposit and that repayments are at prime (11.75%):

Bond value (20 years)Monthly cost
R750 000R8 128
R800 000R8 670
R850 000R9 212
R900 000R9 753
R950 000R10 295
R1 000 000R10 837
R1 500 000R16 256
R2 000 000R21 674
R2 500 000R27 093
R3 000 000R32 511
R3 500 000R37 930
R4 000 000R43 348
R4 500 000R48 767
R5 000 000R54 185