Sarb has safety plan for country’s wealth in case of national grid failure

South Africans have been wondering what would happen to the country’s banks in the unlikely event of a regional or national grid failure.

As such, the South African Reserve Bank (Sarb) has issued a statement advising the plans put in place should the country experience something like this.

In a statement, the Sarb explained that should the country experience a national grid failure, this is where the role of the Financial Sector Contingency Forum (FSCF) comes in.

The FSCF was established by the then Governor Tito Mboweni, after the 9/11 terror attacks in the United States, as a forum where industry and regulators could discuss financial stability issues on a regular basis.

Plans for safety from cyber-attack, a natural disaster, or a pandemic

The forum plans specifically around unlikely events, and helps to identify and manage risks that could cause problems for the financial system, like a cyber-attack, a natural disaster, or a pandemic.

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“The FSCF is tasked with assisting authorities to identify and mitigate risks that could threaten the functioning and stability of the financial system.

“Such risks include the possibility of terror attacks, disruptive cyberattacks, pandemics such as COVID-19 and interruptions of physical infrastructure such as water, telecommunications and electricity. The FSCF helps to test and enhance the financial system’s resilience to respond to any such shocks.

“The FSCF is currently chaired by Deputy Governor Kuben Naidoo, and its members include the National Treasury, Financial Sector Conduct Authority, Association for Savings and Investment South Africa (ASISA), Banking Association South Africa, Financial Intelligence Centre as well as relevant financial market infrastructures (such as the JSE Limited) and other industry bodies and regulated institutions,” the Sarb said in its statement.

FSCF preparing since 2015

It went on to explain that the FSCF has since 2015 been preparing plans to respond to a national or regional electricity grid failure.

“As part of these preparations, it has been in regular contact with Eskom, the petroleum industry and the telecommunications industry. The FSCF also conducts periodic crisis simulations exercises to test the financial sector’s ability to respond to such shocks,” the Sarb assured.  

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These simulation exercises are based on different scenarios. For example:

•             In 2006, the simulation focused on business continuity in the midst of a natural disaster.

•             In 2013, the simulation tested the effectiveness of the FSCF’s escalation, coordination and communication arrangements in the event of a systemic crisis.

•             In 2017, the exercise focused on a cyber-crisis and was held as a two-day workshop facilitated by the World Bank.

•             In 2022, the FSCF commissioned a report on the lessons learned from COVID-19, which was published on and is available on the Sarb website: Lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa.

“It is in this context that work regarding a response to a prolonged electricity outage, which may necessitate an orderly closing and reopening of markets, should be viewed,” the central bank concluded.

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