In addition to being responsible for monetary policy, the Riksbank also has the task of ensuring that payments in the Swedish economy can be made safely and efficiently.
This task comprises several parts:
– offering a central system that the banks can use to pay one another,
– monitoring the financial system that makes it possible to implement payments,
– being able to manage crises if they should arise,
– issuing banknotes and coins.
Payments must function
In a modern economy payments can either be made with the aid of cash or by moving money between accounts. For the banks to be able to pay one another, they need a system where they can transfer money between them. The Riksbank offers such a system and thus plays an important role in the work on ensuring that payments can be made in the Swedish economy.
The Riksbank oversees the financial system
The Riksbank’s central role means that the Riksdag has given us the task of "promoting a safe and efficient payment system". This broadly means that the bank oversees the financial system and the most central participants – the banks. The Riksbank therefore analyses which risks the banks take and their ability to withstand unexpected losses. In addition to the bank system and the four largest Swedish banks, we also follow developments in the financial markets, among borrowers and in the financial infrastructure – that is, the technical systems, rules and routines used to be able to pay for securities, currencies, goods and services.
The Riksbank tries to influence through good arguments
The Bank tries to identify the risks and then to influence the participants who are important to stability. This is why we present our analysis of stability in a report that is published twice a year – the Financial Stability Report.
The Riksbank’s work on stability also includes participating in the formulation of rules and regulatory frameworks and being able to manage crises if they actually occur.