Globally, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) significantly affected economic activity and financial markets. The South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB) policy responses included the adjustment of the repurchase (repo) rate as well as other regulatory interventions that were implemented at the time to ensure the orderly functioning of the financial markets. The SARB’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) lowered the repo rate further at four successive meetings in March, April, May and July 2020, bringing the repo rate from 6.25% on 17 January 2020 to a multi-decade low of 3.50% on 24 July 2020, where it remained until 18 November 2021. The lower repo rate significantly reduced borrowing costs, although more so for households than for corporates. With the deposit rates offered by banks having declined less when compared with lending rates, households benefitted. This reflected the banks’ focus on household deposits as a source of stable funding.