26 Sweden also has a poorly functioning housing market that is also dependent on the international bond market, as a considerable proportion of the mortgage bonds are owned by foreign investors. If these investors were to lose confidence in the Swedish economy or the housing market and thus start selling their holdings, the banks' funding costs would rise and the result would be greater risks in the financial system. 27 See Final Report of the Riksbank Committee (2019). 16 [30]  Council discusses what measures are needed to counteract the build-up of financial imbalances. The Government has also recently presented a legislative proposal for Finansinspektionen to consult with the Riksbank when setting requirements for countercyclical capital buffers for Swedish banks.28 The Government emphasises that the decisions on how large capital buffers banks should have can have significance for monetary policy and should therefore be taken from as broad a perspective as possible. The Riksbank will return with its views on the Government's proposal to give the Riksbank greater influence over the countercyclical buffer. Central banks can counteract financial imbalances in certain situations. From an economic perspective, it is important that the risks in the financial system are manageable. Macroprudential tools are particularly effective when we know where the risks in the financial system are building up, such as excessive private debt. However, when interest rates are low for a long period of time, it can be difficult to know in advance where in the system the main risks lie.
Purchases of private assets and assets other than government securities are primarily relevant when markets that are important to the financial system are threatened, and we risk an acute financial crisis, such as at the start of the pandemic. Under the new Sveriges Riksbank Act, the Riksbank can – under certain conditions – buy and sell Swedish securities issued by the government and private actors. Our monetary policy toolbox in this respect remains the same as before. However, the new act has a more restrictive view of when it may be relevant to purchase private securities. The Riksbank may only buy and sell such securities if there are exceptional reasons. This means in practice that, from a monetary policy perspective, we can only buy and sell private securities when we cannot achieve the desired effect on the economy by using other measures. The new act also gives the Riksbank a more explicit mandate than before to trade in securities, also within the scope of our task of contributing to a stable and efficient financial system. To counter serious disruptions in the financial system, the Riksbank may if there are exceptional reasons buy and sell financial instruments at predetermined prices to temporarily support the functioning of systemically important financial markets. An important task for the Riksbank is to be the lender of last resort for important credit institutions that have problems, but also, under certain conditions, to act to keep markets that are critical to the financial system going.