Central Bank of Ireland and South African Reserve Bank sign Memorandum of Understanding

Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland, Gabriel Makhlouf, and Governor of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB), Lesetja Kganyago, jointly signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Washington DC, where they were both attending the meeting of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors in October.

The purpose of the MoU is to provide a framework to promote cooperation between the two institutions, and is established in the context of South Africa’s G20 Presidency, with Ireland as an invited member this year.

The MoU will promote mutual understanding and action on key priorities of South Africa’s G20 Presidency, namely mitigating climate-related financial risks and advancing cross-border payments, addressing challenges related to cost, speed, access and transparency.

The MoU reflects the critical role central banks play in safeguarding financial, economic and price stability against the effects of climate change, and their part in regulating, supervising, operating, overseeing and upgrading financial market infrastructures to enhance payments.

Governor Makhlouf said: “It was a great pleasure to agree these key areas of cooperation with my South African colleague, and to discuss with Governor Kganyago our shared view of the importance of these issues.”

Echoing this sentiment, Governor Kganyago said: “South Africa’s G20 Presidency has put these issues at the top of the global agenda. The SARB looks forward to ongoing collaboration with the Central Bank of Ireland and to further advancing these discussions.”