History

Sveriges Riksbank, or the Riksbank as it is usually called, is the world's oldest central bank. The Riksbank has a 350 year old history. It stood its ground against King Karl XII, financed the wars of the Age of Liberty, figured in the assassination of King Gustaf III, competed with A. O. Wallenberg, was forced to get involved in the business dealing of Ivar Kreuger, regulated the credit market during the first decades of the post-war era and played the leading role in the 500-per cent defence of the Swedish krona. One financial crisis followed another. It is not hard to recognise some of the elements of the 18th century discussions about confidence, or of the crisis management of the 19th century, in today's discussions.

Over time the Riksbank has encountered many of the problems that economists have sooner or later addressed in their theoretical work. Sometimes the Riksbank has failed, and sometimes it has managed to resolve the problems surprisingly quickly. Sometimes the Riksbank has learned from the experience of other countries, and sometimes economic science has been able to guide the way - and nowadays many lesson can be learned from the Riksbank's own history.

You can read more about the history of the Riksbank by clicking on the links in the menu.