cooperation with national treasury, the bank and the private sector, the issue was resolved and prevented systemic spillovers, which includes the application of bail - in provisions. this was in line with the key attributes of effective resolution regimes of the financial stability board, which south africa has undertaken to adhere to as a g - 20 member country. african bank limited remains under curatorship and, once it is restructured, it is anticipated that the resulting “ good bank ” will be relisted in the foreseeable future. let me now turn to the annual report. bis central bankers ’ speeches the bank remains committed to complying with best practice in terms of integrated reporting, insofar as it is practical for a central bank to do so, taking into account the overriding legislation and confidentiality requirements. the 2014 / 15 annual report reflects a holistic account of all relevant and material financial and non - financial information, which will enable stakeholders to evaluate the performance and impact of the bank ’ s operations and the implementation of its mandate. we have again this year enhanced the look and feel of the printed annual report and produced an interactive and easy to navigate html version on the website. we hope that you have enjoyed reading the report. i am pleased to report that, having made losses in the previous five financial years, the bank has returned to profitability. i should emphasise, however, that the bank does not have a profit - maximising objective and that its operations are conducted in the broader interests of the country, in pursuit of its mandate and responsibilities. the group recorded an after - tax profit of r0, 63 billion compared with a loss of r1, 3 billion in the previous financial year. this improvement in the financial position of the bank was attributable mainly to unrealised profits due to declining global bond yields and the depreciation of the rand against major currencies, which increased the rand value of the interest earned from investing the country ’ s foreignexchange reserves. operating cost increases were attributable mainly to the higher cost of producing new currency, higher staffing costs, as well as the change in the actuarial assumptions related to post - retirement benefits. this year the shareholders ’ roadshow was held only in pretoria on 14 july, as there were no timeous confirmations received from shareholders who wished to participate in the event at the cape town and durban branches via a video conference facility. unfortunately, we have found that the interest from shareholders

in attending the roadshow meetings has diminished over time and accordingly we have decided that we will no longer hold the roadshow events prior to the agm each year. however, i encourage shareholders to communicate with the bank via email or post when necessary and we will always respond to your enquiries and the bank will continue to correspond with the shareholders where there are significant developments which would be relevant to them. in addition, the bank holds monetary policy forums twice annually in pretoria and in various centres around the country and you are welcome to attend those meetings. bis central bankers ’ speeches