Condensed Address of Mr T T Mboweni, Governor of the South African Reserve Bank, at the eighty-second ordinary general meeting of shareholders of the Bank on 27 August 2002 Introduction The South African Reserve Bank was again confronted by many challenges during the past year. I am, however, glad to say that, as on previous occasions, the Bank coped well. Although some ground was lost in containing inflation owing to exogenous shocks that affected the economy, remedial action has been taken to bring the inflation rate down towards the targeted levels. A period of consolidation in the banking sector was handled in an effective manner so as to ensure continued domestic financial stability. Attention was given to the regulatory structure of the banking sector to continue protecting the funds of depositors and to ensure that the intermediation of savings runs smoothly. The efficiency and effectiveness of internal administrative procedures were improved further and considerable progress was made with transforming the composition of the Bank’s staff to better reflect the demographics of the country.​