An independent review of corporate governance within the five largest banking groups in South Africa has found that corporate governance is sound and that no serious breaches exist. Further, the five banks are committed to adhering to high standards of corporate governance. Vigilance, however, was still “required to ensure continued compliance with the standards of governance which are constantly evolving in South Africa and internationally", Advocate JF Myburgh SC concluded in his report. The independent review, ordered by Christo Wiese, the Registrar of Banks, in August 2002, also found that banks periodically reviewed their corporate governance on their own initiative to ensure compliance with accepted principles. The review was conducted by Advocate JF Myburgh SC, in conjunction with the Bank Supervision Department of the SA Reserve Bank. The purpose of the review was broadly to evaluate the standard of corporate governance applied in the five largest banks in South Africa. The basic premise was that corporate governance was an essential element of a healthy risk-management process, which was crucial to the business of any bank.  “This office has given due consideration to the information and recommendations contained in the report,” said Wiese. “We are comforted by the level of corporate-governance compliance with international sound practice found to be present in the five banking groups under review.” Wiese said it was encouraging to note that the risk-management processes within the relevant banks had become more quantitative. This reflected not only the enhanced ability to process data, but also the application of improved techniques for the measurement and management of risk. Sound governance is important for banks because globalisation, technological advances and sophisticated financial instruments are increasing the risks within the banking sector. In addition, most of the funds used by banks belong to depositors, and the failure of a bank can impact on the financial system as a whole. Ends ​