DID YOU KNOW THAT
High turnover in the payment system
The RIX system has a weekly turnover that corresponds to the entire Swedish annual gross domestic product, GDP.
Card transactions on the increase
Since the 1990s the number of transactions using cards has increased sixfold. Cards now account for 50 per cent of the total number of transactions. The use of cheques has gradually declined and is currently negligible.
Financial stability
One of the Riksbank's core functions is to promote a safe and efficient payment system. The payment system is important for all economic activities and is a central component of the financial system. For that reason the Riksbank regularly analyses the risks and threats to the stability of the Swedish financial system. The purpose of this analysis is to detect changes and vulnerabilities that could lead to a serious crisis. The major Swedish banks have particular significance in the analysis. The Riksbank's assessment of stability is published twice yearly in the Financial Stability Report. READ MORE
The Financial Stability Report
The latest Financial Stability Report
The Riksbank assessment is that at present, financial stability in Sweden is sound. But the resilience to unexpected negative events has decreased to some extent in the past six months. At the same time there are a number of surrounding risks that in time could disturb financial stability. The risks in financial markets have grown. This is revealed in the report published on 4 December 2007.
In a separate article the Riksbank marks the tenth anniversary of its reports on financial stability. The Riksbank was a pioneer in this field when it decided a decade ago to publish a comprehensive assessment of financial stability. The article describes a number of future challenges and their implications for the ongoing work on financial stability.
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CRISIS MANAGEMENT
What do we do if a financial crisis occurs?
A financial crisis can arise unexpectedly and spread rapidly. Good preparations for crisis management may prove crucial in an emergency situation. Among other things, it is vital to have effective communication channels with both Swedish and foreign authorities.
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