to remove as much of the subjectivity as possible. the duty to consult with other regulatory bodies is of paramount importance. in any application of this sort, section 37 of the banks act requires a decision to be made by the minister of finance, after the registrar of banks has made a recommendation, subsequent to consultation with the competition commission. the registrar also has to engage the two banks in discussions, consult with other domestic and international regulators, and consult with the governor and deputy governors of the reserve bank. further, the banks act prescribes that the competition authorities must be consulted on competition issues in an application of this nature. however, prior to the amendments to the competition act, which came into effect in february this year, the act did not apply to applications " subject to or authorised by public regulation ". further, section 54 of the banks act says that no arrangement involving a bank and no arrangement for the transfer of the bank ’ s assets and liabilities, or a part of them, can be legally executed unless the consent of the minister of finance is conveyed through the registrar. this section does not contain a provision requiring consultation with the competition commission. in applications like these, the minister of finance has to be satisfied that the proposal is not contrary to the interests of the public, the depositors, and the bank concerned or to its controlling company. the minister of finance rejected nedcor ’ s bid based on the grounds, among others, that south africa ’ s already highly concentrated banking sector would be compounded by the merger ; the size of the merged bank would affect the banking authorities ’ ability to contain systemic crises ; and the potential social costs, such as job losses, outweighed the efficiency gains of the merger. the minister of finance took into account the recommendations of the registrar of banks and the competition commission, which had both opposed nedcor ’ s bid on the grounds of pub lic interest. in this case, the supreme court of appeal ruled that the registrar and the minister of finance had sole jurisdiction over share acquisitions in banks and banking mergers. as a result of this judgement, the department of trade and industry made certain amendments to the competition act. it deleted the provision that the competition act did not apply to acts authorised by public regulation. further, the minister of finance has the power to exclude the competition commission ’ s jurisdiction by issuing a notice. 5. concurrent jurisdiction the amendments established a concurrent jurisdiction between the competition commission, the registrar and the minister of finance. this concurrent jurisdiction

even greater, against the background of a current - account deficit of around 4, 5 per cent of gdp. in the past, sell - offs of emerging - market assets had been triggered by a wide array of events, which were infrequently related to actual developments in the domestic economy. conclusion despite these risks, let me conclude by reiterating that the world and south africa seems to be well set on a “ pathway to growth ”. it is conferences such as this one that are likely to sustain this growth. it is also conferences such as this one that will contribute to overcoming obstacles, reducing uncertainty and managing risks. let us not be discouraged by those, but use a position of relative strength to plan for the future and be mindful of the risks that undoubtedly exist. thank you for your attention.