Riksbank gets new general council

Sweden's parliament yesterday appointed a new general council to oversee the governance of the Riksbank following national elections last month.

The council appoints the members of the Riksbank's executive board – comprising the governor and deputy governors – which is responsible for Sweden's monetary policy. It also has final say on the central bank's ‘rules of procedure' and the design of banknotes and coins.

The general council can, moreover, present proposals to the Swedish parliament and the National Audit Office regarding the allocation of the Riksbank's profits. The body has an audit unit responsible for examining how executive board members "discharge their duties".

Together with the executive board, the council may present proposals to Sweden's parliament and government on statutory amendments or "other measures in its sphere of responsibility".

It may also "present opinions within its field of competence" on issues "officially referred to the Riksbank for consideration".

The general council is appointed after each general election, for a period of four years and consists of 11 ordinary members and 11 deputies – all of whom are members of parliament.

Notably, seats are not allocated strictly on the basis of parliamentary proportionality – three out of eight political parties in parliament are not represented by an ordinary council member. Moreover, the third-largest party in last month's election, the far-right Sweden democrats, ended up with only one seat.