THURSDAY, 2.00PM:
BOND traders are gearing to confront the Reserve Bank over inefficient handling of the its bond auction, after the Bank this week released the results of the auction over an hour-and-a-half late.
Investors and traders alike were thrown off balance when the Bank, held back by a computer problem, failed to release the results of the auction within half an hour of bids closing, a crucial time frame, as traders were left exposed to market movements while waiting for the results.
When the results were finally released, the Bank ended up issuing less than the R250-million of R150 bonds it had put out to tender.
Angry primary dealers refused to make up the difference. Banks that are primary dealers in government stocks are now set to confront the Bank and the Finance Department at the next meeting.