6 I would also like to mention that the deposit guarantee, which is managed by the Swedish National Debt Office,  is also important in avoiding bank runs. 7 See, for instance, Söderberg (2018). 4 [35]  One can say that the Riksbank functions as the hub of the Swedish financial system. We can also note that the financial system that has grown up around the world is based on countries or currency areas having state money and state control over the payment system. Quite simply, state institutions are needed to guarantee that the requirements in these points are met. 8  Payment markets are changing – motives for an e-krona Almost all economic activity is linked to some form of payment, so without functioning payment systems the economy would grind to a halt. It is therefore important that the central banks adapt to the technical innovations that are now rapidly changing the payment market. There must be transactional efficiency in Swedish and by that I mean that they should be cheap and easy to use for both domestic and international payments. This is also what households, quite rightly, expect in today’s digital society. By keeping apace with technological developments, we ensure that the safety net I mentioned earlier, which preserves the value of money and ensures it is easy and cheap to use, remains in place.
I therefore think that Sweden, with its large cross-border banks, should consider membership of the Banking Union. To enable the Riksbank to carry out its tasks and deal with the challenges offered by the changes in the financial system, the monetary policy instruments need to be fit-for-purpose and flexible. The coronavirus pandemic has shown that a combination of several instruments – not just the policy rate – may be needed to stabilise the economy in a crisis situation. The Government has in its proposal for a new Sveriges Riksbank Act suggested several restrictions to practical monetary policy. I think this is unfortunate, as it makes it more difficult for the Riksbank to safeguard an efficient and stable financial system, if the proposals are put into practice. 2 [35]  The Riksbank’s balance sheet is currently very large, and this is mainly due to the extensive purchases of government bonds we began making at the beginning of 2015, and to the measures taken during the pandemic. I believe that our balance sheet will remain large for some time to come. There are several reasons for this. In particular, the generally low interest rates mean that it will become more difficult to use the policy rate in monetary policy, but many of the changes in the financial environment are also important reasons. My assessment is therefore that the bond purchases and holdings of bonds will play a larger role than before.