Governor Ingves’s presentation at the Riksdag Committee on Finance

Date 19/08/2011

On Tuesday 16 August Riksbank Governor Stefan Ingves took part, together with Finance Minister Anders Borg and Director General of the National Institute of Economic Research Mats Dillén, in the Riksdag Committee on Finance’s extra meeting called to discuss recent economic developments. The slides presented by the Governor as part of his presentation are published below.

 

After the meeting Stefan Ingves answered questions from the media. The Riksbank also receives many questions from the general public. Here are the answers to some of the most frequently-asked questions.

 

How can the financial turbulence affect the Swedish banks?

There is very little risk that the Swedish banks would suffer major loan losses, as their exposure to the countries with sovereign debt problems in Europe is slight. However, they could be indirectly affected, as they depend on obtaining funding through the international capital markets. We are of course following developments closely and have regular contacts with the banks and others to monitor potential effects on financial stability.

 

How well prepared is the Riksbank?

We maintain a good level of preparedness and have good capacity to take action if this should prove necessary to safeguard financial stability. However, we see no reason at present to take any measures. The Swedish banks are well-capitalised and currently have access to funding on the international capital markets.

 

How do recent developments affect your assessments of the economy and monetary policy?

The Executive Board of the Riksbank will present their views on how the turbulence in the financial statistics, as well as new macroeconomic statistics, affects monetary policy on 7 September. This is when the Board’s next repo rate decision will be published, together with a Monetary Policy Update.