5  For a more detailed description of macroprudential policy, see for instance C. Nordh-Berntsson and J. Molin (2012), “A Swedish framework for macroprudential policy”, Economic Review, no. 1, Sveriges Riksbank, and my colleague Karolina Ekholm’s speech “Macroprudential policy and clear communication contribute to financial stability,” published on 30 March 2012. BIS central bankers’ speeches  3  focus for macroprudential policy is the risks in the financial system as a whole (see Figure 9). The supervision of individual institutions is, of course, also important to the stability of the financial system, not least as financial institutions are regarded as “systemically important”. But to capture the build-up of risks that could threaten the stability of the financial system – what are known as systemic risks – it is not enough to keep an eye on individual institutions. One needs to supplement this with a systemic, or macro, perspective. Macroprudential policy also requires appropriate tools. Let me discuss some of the macroprudential tools that could be useful to specifically manage the risks linked to house prices and household debt.6 Countercyclical capital buffers are one of the most discussed tools, and are a part of the Basel III international regulatory framework.7 The idea is to vary the capital requirements made of the banks; when there is strong credit growth, the requirements will be increased, while they will be reduced during financial stress, when there is otherwise a risk of a credit crunch.
6  BIS central bankers’ speeches  Figure 1 Quarterly economic growth (1) (q-o-q change, percent) 3  3  2  2  1  1  0  0  -1  -1  -2  -2  -3  -3 07  III.07  08  III.08  09  Developed (2)  III.09  Emerging (3)  10  III.10  (1) Regions weighted at PPP. (2) Includes: Australia, Canada, Denmark, the Eurozone, Japan, New Zealand, the Sweden, Switzerland, the U.K., and the U.S. (3) Includes Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, the Philippines, South Korea, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, Taiwan, Turkey and Venezuela. Sources: Central Bank of Chile based on each country’s statistics institute and International Monetary Fund. Figure 2 World growth (*) (y-o-y change, percent) 15 12 9 6 3 0 -3 -6 -9 -12 -15  15 12 9 6 3 0 -3 -6 -9 -12 -15 80  85  Developed  90  95  Chile  00  05  Latin America  10  (*) Gray area shows April 2011's WEO forecasts. Source: International Monetary Fund.