SARB Adds Makrelov as the Sixth Member of the MPC

The South African Reserve Bank has appointed Konstantin Makrelov to its interest-rate-setting committee, taking over from Chris Loewald, who retired in March.

Makrelov will take on the role of chief economist at the bank and will also be a member of its Financial Stability Committee, as stated in a release from Pretoria on Monday. This appointment takes effect immediately.

This move increases the total number of MPC members to six and comes just before the central bank’s next interest-rate announcement set for May 28. In the previous meeting, the bank held its key rate steady at 6.75% to give policymakers a chance to assess the implications of the US-Israel conflict with Iran on the inflation outlook.

Joining the central bank in November 2018, Makrelov was later appointed divisional head of economic and climate change-related research in January 2024.

In these roles, he significantly influenced the SARB’s economic analysis and research agenda, which helped shape monetary and macroeconomic policy, as well as addressing long-term structural challenges facing the South African economy.

Before joining the bank, he spent 12 years at the National Treasury, concentrating on fiscal forecasting and assessing key government policies, as noted.

Makrelov earned a PhD from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, along with a Master’s degree in economic science and a Bachelor of Commerce in Economics from the University of the Witwatersrand.

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