Ballooning budget deficits and mounting fiscal debt exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic is putting central banks under pressure to monetise government debt – in one form or another.

The South African Reserve Bank (Sarb) became the latest major institution to face pressure after South Africa’s deputy finance minister, David Masondo, told a local newspaper he would support the central bank directly purchasing government debt to help fund measures to contain the virus. So far, the Sarb appears to