Stefan Ingves: The monetary policy toolbox

Speech by Mr Stefan Ingves, Governor of the Sveriges Riksbank, at the Swedish Economics Association, Stockholm, 10 June 2020.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

Accompanying slides of the speech.

The spread of the coronavirus came as an unpleasant surprise to us all. It is now clear that the economic consequences of the pandemic threaten to be both serious and protracted. Most analysts have very weak forecasts for economic developments in the coming quarters, and in some scenarios also for a longer period to come. We are in the midst of an unforeseen economic development that needs to be met with various macroeconomic tools, and the Riksbank has an important role to play here, together with the Government, the Riksdag (Swedish parliament) and other authorities.

During the initial phase of the crisis, we Executive Board members have already taken a large number of decisions to support the Swedish economy, and thus contribute to meeting the targets for economic policy, and I will comment on what we have done in more detail later on. We can note that many of the measures have major consequences for the Riksbank's balance sheet - something that will be a recurring theme in today's speech.