Relationship

Sweden is a member of the IMF since 1951. The Riksbank is Swedish liaison body vis-à-vis the Fund, and has provided Sweden’s contribution to the Fund’s general resources, as well as supporting financial arrangements. The Riksbank governor is Governor for Sweden in the IMF. Within Sweden, the Riksbank coordinates national positions with the Ministry of Finance and, as appropriate, other ministries.

Much of the IMF-related work takes place within the framework of the Nordic-Baltic constituency, which consists of all the five Nordic countries and the three Baltic countries. The constituency takes common positions on key policy issues to be considered by the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) and the IMF Executive Board. The representation of the constituency at meetings with those bodies is determined by a preset rotation scheme. Since July 2010, Norway’s Finance Minister Sigbjørn Johnsen represents the constituency in the IMFC, and Per Callesen, former Danish State Secretary holds the position as Executive Director for the constituency for the period 2010 2012. The highest policymaking body of the constituency is the Nordic-Baltic Monetary and Financial Committee (NBMFC), which is comprised of deputy central bank governors and state secretaries from the Nordic and Baltic countries. These delegates meet ahead of the IMFC meetings. Also the chair of the NBMFC rotates within the constituency, and the current incumbent for the  2010 2012 period is Norwegian State Secretary Tore Eriksen.
 
Informal coordination of positions on more important IMF issues also takes place for the EU member states countries in the framework of the Economic and Financial Committee (EFC), and its sub-committee for IMF issues (SCIMF). Core IMF issues are also discussed within the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) with its International Relations Committee (IRC).

Priority issues for the Riksbank

Sweden attaches great importance to the effectiveness of IMF surveillance with regard to influencing the economic policy of the member countries. The IMF should be able to spell out potential risks of negative spillover effects of policies pursued by any single country. With increasing cross-border economic and financial links it is also important to strengthen the surveillance of entire regions rather than just focus on individual countries. Sweden furthermore supports the IMF's ongoing work to improve the links between its macroeconomic analysis and financial aspects.
 
A necessary condition for the IMF to be successful in gaining support for its recommendations regarding economic policy is that it enjoys a high degree of legitimacy in its entire membership. In this context, it is important that the member countries' influence and representation in the IMF reflect their respective economic significance in the world economy. Sweden supports a stronger representation primarily of emerging market economies, which have gained in economic strength in recent years. At the same time, Sweden seeks to uphold a reasonable level of influence for small, well-developed countries which currently make substantial financial contributions to the IMF's activities and for which weaker legitimacy would in the long run jeopardise the conditions for contributing. Sweden is also supportive of transparency in regulations and processes regarding decisions on member countries’ influence in the IMF.
 
A further key issue for Sweden is that the IMF should have stable finances and sufficient resources to fulfil its role effectively and efficiently. In this vein, Sweden has actively contributed to coordinated bilateral loans from EU member states to strengthen the IMF’s funding against the backdrop of the financial crisis. The EU members agreed in spring 2009 to grant temporary loans to the IMF up to a total value of EUR 75 billion. Sweden’s, and thereby the Riksbank’s, share amounts to the equivalent of SEK 25 billion.
 
An important task in the period ahead is to assess what will be a reasonable level for the IMF's permanent resources and supplementary financial commitments in the longer term. To some extent, this will depend on the outcome of the ongoing discussions concerning the future role of the organisation. There are, for example, ideas to extend the IMF’s insurance role in order to reduce the need of member countries to build up reserves, and thus reduce the size of the global imbalances. If this becomes a reality, it will affect the amount of resources that the IMF will need to cope with such a role.