A more even distribution of the Fund’s ownership will provide us with the opportunity to take part in the value creation in regions with strong growth. This implies a reduction in the allocation to European equities and an increase in the allocation to the Americas and emerging economies. High economic growth in Asia can provide sound returns on investments in that region even though today’s equity prices already reflect expectations of higher growth in eastern than in western regions. A more even distribution will nonetheless improve the trade-off between risk and expected rewards. The currency composition of the bond portfolio should also be adjusted. According to the guidelines, the distribution in the bond portfolio should be based on the volume of sovereign debt issued by each country. This has resulted in rising loans to countries that have issued  BIS central bankers’ speeches  3  new debt. The risk linked to that strategy came into evidence in the wake of the financial crisis. A distribution of government bonds that is based on GDP will reduce this risk. Moreover, it has been proposed that government debt issued by emerging countries also be included in the portfolio. The consequence of this is the same as for the equity portfolio, that is to say a reduction in the Fund’s European holdings. The financial crisis showed that many securities move in tandem. The number of bonds in the portfolio has been more than halved over the past few years.
In June, the Riksdag supported the proposal and called on the government to appoint as soon as possible an inquiry into the consequences for the payment market of digitalisation and the declining use of cash, and the roles of the state and the private sector on this market. The Government Offices are currently in the process of drafting the inquiry’s terms of reference and reviewing its staffing. The inquiry will probably be able to start work in early 2020. So far, there are perhaps not so many lessons to be learnt from this as we are very much in the middle of an ongoing process. One possible lesson is that it is not just crises and macroeconomic paradigm shifts that require analysis, innovation and adaptability at a central bank. Changes in the payment system can also do so, even if they occur less frequently. Another lesson is that the payment habits of the general public can change very quickly once the prerequisites are in place. In just under ten years, dramatic developments have taken place in the way Swedish people pay for things. Between 2010 and 2018, the proportion of Swedes who used cash for their last transaction decreased from about 40 per cent to 13 per cent, and it will probably continue to fall. My vision of the Swedish payment system in the future Before I round off, allow me to elaborate on an issue that I am particularly passionate about.