What this page covers
Most floating-rate lending in South Africa is priced off a benchmark rather than off the repo rate directly. Which benchmark, and what it actually measures, decides how a loan behaves when policy moves.
| Rate | What it measures | Status | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| ZARONIA | Overnight unsecured deposits, actual transactions | The successor benchmark | New floating-rate contracts |
| JIBAR | Interbank rates from quoted bids and offers | Being phased out | Legacy loans and derivatives |
| SABOR | Overnight interbank funding, volume weighted | Published daily | A reference measure |
| Repo rate | The Reserve Bank's policy rate | Set by the MPC | Policy, and the base for prime |
| Prime | Repo plus 3.5 percentage points | Bank convention | Retail lending |
| Rate | Approximate level | Relationship to repo |
|---|---|---|
| Repo | 7.25% | The policy rate itself |
| ZARONIA | About 7.20% | Just below repo |
| 3-month JIBAR | About 7.60% | Repo plus a term premium |
| Prime | 10.75% | Repo plus 3.50 |
| Bond rate, typical home loan | Prime minus 0.50 to prime plus 1.00 | Priced off prime |
| Milestone | What it means |
|---|---|
| ZARONIA published | From November 2022, as an observed rate |
| Designated successor | The Market Practitioners Group recommendation |
| New contracts | Expected to reference ZARONIA |
| Legacy contracts | Require fallback language or conversion |
| Key difference | ZARONIA is overnight and backward looking; JIBAR is term and forward looking |
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Every table on this page as a spreadsheet, with the source and the date it was checked in the header rows.
⬇ Download CSVHow these figures work
The figures on this page come from the body that publishes them and change on a schedule rather than continuously, which is what makes them worth keeping in one place. The shift from JIBAR to ZARONIA mirrors the global move from LIBOR to overnight rates, for the same reason: a rate built on actual transactions is harder to manipulate than one built on quotes.
A backward-looking overnight rate means the interest on a period is only known at the end of it, which changes how a borrower budgets.
★ What this means in practice
Retail borrowers are mostly unaffected, because prime is a bank convention tied to the repo rate rather than to JIBAR.
✕ Common mistakes
- The shift from JIBAR to ZARONIA mirrors the global move from LIBOR to ov. The shift from JIBAR to ZARONIA mirrors the global move from LIBOR to overnight rates, for the same reason: a rate built on actual transactions is harder to manipulate than one built on quotes.
- A backward-looking overnight rate means the interest on a period is only. A backward-looking overnight rate means the interest on a period is only known at the end of it, which changes how a borrower budgets.
- Retail borrowers are mostly unaffected, because prime is a bank conventi. Retail borrowers are mostly unaffected, because prime is a bank convention tied to the repo rate rather than to JIBAR.
- Taking a figure without its date. A number from a reference page is only as good as when it was last checked, which is why the date sits at the top of this one.
Notes on reading these figures
- The shift from JIBAR to ZARONIA mirrors the global move from LIBOR to overnight rates, for the same reason: a rate built on actual transactions is harder to manipulate than one built on quotes.
- A backward-looking overnight rate means the interest on a period is only known at the end of it, which changes how a borrower budgets.
- Retail borrowers are mostly unaffected, because prime is a bank convention tied to the repo rate rather than to JIBAR.
To put these figures to work, The SARB Repo Rate History runs the arithmetic on your own numbers; Prime Lending Rate History covers the same ground in ordinary language; Interest Rate Differential Calculator goes into the detail this table only summarises; What is the carry trade? is the related figure worth reading beside it; and South African Bond Yields covers what this page leaves out.
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Terms used on this page
Frequently asked questions
What is ZARONIA?
An overnight rate calculated from actual transactions, designated as the successor to JIBAR.
Why is JIBAR being replaced?
It is built from quoted bids and offers rather than real trades, which makes it easier to influence. The global move away from LIBOR was for the same reason.
Does this affect my home loan?
Not directly. Retail lending is priced off prime, which is a bank convention tied to the repo rate.
Why is prime 3.5 above repo?
It is a long-standing bank convention rather than a rule, and it has held for more than two decades.
What is the difference between overnight and term rates?
An overnight rate covers one day. A three-month rate includes a term premium for the uncertainty over that period.
Where are these rates published?
ZARONIA and SABOR by the Reserve Bank, JIBAR through the JSE.