At the last MPC I got a question through to SARB chief central interest rate planner Gill Marcus. At the time, I thought they’d start censoring the tough questions after the one I got through to them that they had to dodge. I’ll write about that another time.

Today, after Marcus’ discussion of maintaining the integrity of the new Randelas by being vigilant against counterfeiting, I asked the following:

The commercial banks have created fractional electronic Rand money supply out of thin air with a purchasing power of over R200 billion in the past year. Are the economic benefits that accrue to banks from this any different to other people who counterfeit Rands?

Of course, the answer is an emphatic: No. This is hugely profitable to banks, and is why Michael Tellinger is risking his life going up against them. One difference is banks counterfeit Rands that do not even have security features because they are electronic Rands. The Banks Act allows the banks and only the banks to be licensed counterfeiters of Rands.

The question was screened and kept aside by the online message handler at the MPC press conference. It’s a secret that central bankers and commercial bankers would prefer to keep locked up in an underground basement.