FINANCIAL MARKETS: JIBAR-ZARONIA TRANSITION POSTPONED

FINANCIAL MARKETS: JIBAR-ZARONIA TRANSITION POSTPONED

• 03 November 2026
• Financial Sector
• SA Legal Academy

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has issued a media statement announcing a five-month postponement of the Johannesburg Interbank Average Rate’s (Jibar’s) cessation and final publication. According to a 3 December 2025 SARB press release, the transition from Jibar to the South African Rand Overnight Index Average (ZARONIA) as the preferred reference rate was originally scheduled for 31 December 2026. It is now expected to take place on 31 May 2027.

The postponement appears to have been prompted by uncertainty around the finalisation of pre-transition legislative processes and operational requirements. Nevertheless, ‘the extension does not change the direction of the reform programme’. Market participants are ‘still expected’ to:

• ‘reduce their reliance on Jibar’
• ‘maintain the momentum of their transition programmes’
• ‘use the additional time to address outstanding contractual, system and operational requirements’, and to
• ‘increase their use of ZARONIA in financial contracts’.

A General Finance Laws Amendment Bill tabled in Parliament in August 2026 includes proposed changes to the 2017 Financial Sector Regulation Act intended to facilitate the Jibar-ZARONIA transition for ‘tough legacy contracts’ – the term for contracts using the Jibar as a benchmark when calculating interest payable.

According to a memorandum on the Bill’s objects, in that context the amendments envisaged will enable the SARB to:

• ‘identify and designate different categories of legacy contracts’
• ‘determine … (appropriate) replacement benchmarks’, and to
• ‘determine and designate a synthetic benchmark and adjustment spreads’ where necessary.

Affected markets include:

• the loan market
• the derivatives market
• bonds
• securitised products, and
• short-term instruments.

The Bill includes proposed amendments to the 2024 Public Procurement Act, which a September 2026 Constitutional Court ruling declared unconstitutional. Presumably, those provisions will fall away. While both parliamentary committees responsible for processing the Bill have since been briefed on the ruling’s implications, there are no official records of any further developments.

• latest SARB media statement
• December 2025 SARB media statement
• Bill
• Constitutional Court ruling on 2024 Public Procurement Act

Published by SA Legal Academy Policy Watch

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