Is the ‘prime lending rate’ just a load of BS?

Is the so-called “prime lending rate” – the fancifully advertised rate that banks use as a reference or pegging point to sell bonds and loans to us – just a giant load of untested BS? Why is it 350 basis points more than our much-deserved low repo rate, and isn’t it high time the SA Reserve Bank reviewed this? The very latest word from News24 business journo, Garth Theunissen, is that the Competition Commission’s already been looking into alleged cartel collusion regarding the rate and local banks since 2021. Later, in our trending topic, an alleged drunk driver in Cape Town turns on two cops trying to solicit a bribe from him. Finally, Britain upset the Commonwealth by selling apartheid SA arms, On This Day in SA History, heard later in the show just before Rauby’s Pointless Braai Quiz. Comment below and send our host, broadcast journalist Graeme Raubenheimer, a voice note: 072 562 3179. To advertise: thelead@24.com. Full editions drop Monday through Thursday at 19:00 on Spotify, Apple and YouTube. The show is fully produced, presented and edited by Raubenheimer, and quality-checked by Simon Sonnekus.