Reserve Bank files court challenge to report on Absa bail-out

JOHANNESBURG – Reserve Bank (SARB) said on Thursday it would ask the High Court to set aside the Public Protector’s finding that it did not recover interest from an apartheid-era bail out to Absa, now a unit of the Barclays Africa.

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“The SARB has filed an application to the Gauteng North High Court for the review of the Public Protector’s report and evidential factual inaccuracies therein,” the bank said in a statement.

The Public Protector, whose job is to uphold standards in public life, recommended last month that the central bank’s mandate be changed to focus on growth and not just inflation and that a police investigation into the Absa bailout be conducted.