The foreign currency reserve at the central bank's disposal thus becomes an important tool with regard to meeting the banks’ needs for liquidity in foreign currency in a crisis. This applies in particular in a small economy with a small currency, like Sweden's. As liquidity problems are normally the first symptoms of a crisis, it is generally also the central banks that first take action in a crisis. They often have several ways of quickly adding liquidity. These include liquidity assistance to individual institutions, so-called emergency liquidity assistance, or to the financial system as a whole. A concrete example of when this type of measure was needed was the financial crisis 2008-2009, when it was difficult for the banks to obtain access to liquidity on the markets. Many central banks were then forced to supply liquidity to a great extent so that the financial system would not suffer any shocks. The Riksbank lent USD to the equivalent of around SEK 250 billion. 5 In addition, the state in the form of the Swedish National Debt Office provided guarantees corresponding at most to around SEK 350 billion. 6 This was all done for the purpose of safeguarding the liquidity supply in the financial system so that households and companies would not suffer disruptions. I have now talked about three core tasks that central banks have to contribute to creating an efficient and stable financial system – issuing banknotes and coins, responsibility for a central payment system and acting as liquidity provider in a crisis.
Svein Gjedrem: Housing finance in Norway Speech by Mr Svein Gjedrem, Governor of Norges Bank (Central Bank of Norway), to the Norwegian Covered Bond Forum, Oslo, 27 January 2010. The text below may differ slightly from the actual presentation. This lecture does not contain assessments of the economic situation or current interest rate setting. *  *  *  From state to private housing finance After the Second World War, the credit market in Norway was regulated. Credit demand was high. The Norwegian state endeavoured to steer credit flows towards priority sectors and the state banks therefore played an important role as credit intermediaries. There were considerable housing shortages after the war. For some population groups, living conditions were poor. In1946, the Norwegian State Housing Bank was established to provide credit for new residential construction. This bank and Statens Landbruksbank (the state agricultural bank) dominated housing finance for new house purchases up to the 1980s. State bank mortgage rates were initially set based on political objectives, but were over the years gradually revised up and adjusted to market rates. With the gradual deregulation of the credit market in the 1980s, state lending institutions assumed a lesser role in housing finance and the private market took over. Sales of existing homes increased. In 1992 private banks provided the majority of residential mortgages. Their share of housing finance was also high compared with other Nordic countries. In Denmark and Sweden, mortgage institutions were the primary source of residential mortgages.