Picture of the Riksbank house
Did you know that

The world’s oldest central bank

The Riksbank is considered to be the oldest central bank in the world and was founded in 1668.

 

Banknotes and coins

In 1904, the Riksbank was granted a monopoly on issuing banknotes and coins in kronor.

 

Independent central bank

On 1 January 1999, the Riksbank was granted its independent status in Swedish law.

The Riksbank’s tasks

The Riksbank is Sweden’s central bank and an authority under the Riksdag, the Swedish parliament. The Riksbank is responsible for monetary policy with the objective to maintain price stability. The bank has also been given the task to promote a safe and efficient payment system.

 

The Riksbank’s interpretation of price stability is that inflation should be at a low, stable rate. The consumer price index, CPI, should be maintained at around 2 per cent. The Riksbank's main tool for influencing inflation is the repo rate.

 

The payment system and the supplying of credit play a central role in ensuring the economy functions efficiently. The Riksbank makes regular assessments of risk levels in the major Swedish banks and in the central financial infrastructure.

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News

Organisation chart of January 2010
(1 January 2010)
The Riksbank has strongly committed employees
(21 October 2009)
Annual report for Sveriges Riksbank for the financial year 2008
(2 February 2009)
The Riksbank's communication policy
(7 May 2008)

Asset management

The Riksbank manages assets that the Riksbank should be able to use to implement monetary policy, buy or sell currency on the foreign exchange market and to provide emergency liquidity assistance to banks if needed.

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