Sweden
IMF calls on Nordics to keep housing markets in check
Article IV reports warn Norges Bank will eventually have to normalise policy rate above inflation target and call for Swedish macro-pru measures targeted at households
Riksbank's first deputy calls for macro-prudential measures that directly limit household debt
Kerstin af Jochnick suggests amortisation requirements and ‘review of tax deductions for interest paid' in Stockholm speech
Riksbank's Ingves and Flodén warn over risks of persistent low interest rates
Interest rates may need to stay low - creating dangerous levels of household debt, Riksbank governor and deputy tell parliamentary committee
Stanley Fischer upbeat on US productivity potential
Fed vice-chair says productivity cycles are ‘extremely difficult to predict'; emphasises possibility that productivity will continue to rise in line with historical average
Riksbank minutes reveal dispute over IMF and BIS advice
Top Swedish central bankers debate the relevance of IMF and BIS advice for monetary policy to fight financial instability; question value of input from officials that do not set policy themselves
Ingves outvoted as Riksbank cuts 50bp
Swedish central bank hits zero lower bound for first time since 2010 as inflation plummets; outvoted Ingves says his standing is not weakened, calls housing situation ‘acute'
Riksbank brief: Virtual currencies 'essentially positive'
Digital money can make payments 'cheaper and more secure', argues staffer in economic commentary; risks mean virtual currencies should be assessed on a case-by-case basis
Riksbank calls on Mervyn King for monetary policy review
Former BoE governor will head up a review, with Marvin Goodfriend, of Sweden's increasingly controversial monetary policy
Nouy says SSM will bring ‘positive effects’ for Nordic banks
Supervisors from Nordic countries consider how their relationship will change when the SSM becomes operational; Denmark and Sweden are unlikely to opt in
Riksbank calls for separate LCR in local currency
Swedish central bank is wary of lenders' ‘extremely low' krona buffers; proposed change could be constrained by the size of Sweden's sovereign bond market, however
Ingves: Swedes should be forced to amortise mortgages
Riksbank governor slams Swedish 'culture' whereby 40% of households ‘do not amortise at all'; average debt-to-income ratio for mortgaged households is 313%
Riksbank sees improvement in interbank rate framework
A detailed examination of the 'Stockholm interbank offered rate' framework was launched in 2011 after several shortcomings were revealed
New Riksbank data finds household debt higher than previously thought
Study by the central bank puts average debt ratio for households with mortgages at 313%, roughly double the official national average
Finland deputy: Banking union may 'exacerbate conflict' for national supervisors
Banking union is envisaged to lessen the role that national interest plays in bank supervision, but Pentti Hakkarainenin warns of potential short-term setbacks
Riksbank minutes reveal fissures on ‘leaning against the wind' amid low inflation
The Riksbank's decision not to cut interest rates amid weak inflation earlier this month was preceded by heated debate, minutes show
Riksbank deputy leads defence against Svensson critique
Vice-governor one of several heavyweights, including former governor and Nobel Foundation head Lars Heikensten, to take on Lars Svensson, who blames the bank for causing unemployment
Riksbank calls for FMI recovery plans
Sweden’s central bank concerned by the lack of recovery and resolution plans for the country’s financial market infrastructures; calls for changes at individual platforms and in legislation
Riksbank appoints two senior managers
Appointments to human resources and cash and payment systems sections follow establishment of three new departments on March 1
Riksbank told to stop ‘leaning against the wind' by national forecaster
Sweden's National Institute for Economic Research sees ‘no reason for monetary policy to be influenced by household debt' in a rebuke of Riksbank policy
Parliament eyes Riksbank's off-mark inflation forecasts
Report on Swedish central bank's performance in 2013 shows its inflation forecasts were off the mark; flawed forecasts have forced several central banks to upend policies in the past months
Riksbank deputy flags danger of leaning against the wind
Karolina Ekholm says use of monetary policy to lean against high indebtedness has created deflation while doing little to solve the debt problems
Riksbank paper examines dynamics of foreign funding by Swedish banks
Study finds currency hedging needs of institutions and companies incentivise Swedish banks to issue securities in foreign currency
Sweden mulls tighter rules on wholesale forex funding
Group comprising top-ranking decision-makers, including Riksbank governor Stefan Ingves and the minister of financial markets, highlights ‘big risk’ of foreign wholesale funding
Interest swaps with longer maturities more sensitive to macroeconomic news, DNB paper suggests
The impact in Sweden of macroeconomic news on the sensitivity of interest rate swaps was reduced at the effective zero lower bound at short maturities but not at longer maturities, according to paper