It is then of course essential that one also ensures that Finansinspektionen is equipped with the most efficient tools possible to be able to manage its task in a good way. And if one later discovers that there are doubts regarding some parts of the mandate, it is of course important that these are remedied without delay. 2  Finansinspektionen was intending to introduce an amortisation requirement from 1 August 2015. However, the administrative court of appeal in Jönköping, among other instances, questioned the legal authority of Finansinspektionen to decide amortisation requirements. Finansinspektionen decided not to go further with the amortisation requirement as the legal position was uncertain and at the same time observed that its mandate needed clarification; see press release from Finansinspektionen on 23 April 2015. BIS central bankers’ speeches  7  To avoid a future economic downturn from being deeper than normal as a result of the high indebtedness, it is therefore essential that the Government quickly ensures that Sweden has an efficient framework for macroprudential policy and that Finansinspektionen has a clear mandate. It is almost seven years since the financial crisis broke out. One of the major lessons learnt from the crisis is the importance of an efficient macroprudential policy that enables early identification of financial imbalances and rapid implementation of necessary measures. There is broad agreement on which imbalances have built up in the Swedish economy, but there also appears to be what is known as an inaction bias, which means that no authority has taken adequate measures.
Developments during the summer Focus on Greece As you know, at the beginning of July the Greek people voted no to the proposed measures presented by the country’s creditors in a general referendum. However, shortly thereafter the Greek parliament nevertheless decided to make extensive reforms and savings. They have thus been able to reach an agreement of principle regarding a third loan programme and negotiations are currently under way regarding the details of this programme. However, it will be some time before we can fully understand what effects the summer’s discussion on the future of Greece will have on the monetary union and the development of the euro area. On the one hand, it was a relief that the euro area succeeded in reaching a new agreement with Greece. On the other hand, confidence in the euro area and in Greece may have been damaged further, which creates uncertainty and may further delay the growth that the area so needs. There is still the question of whether Greece will succeed in recovering without needing to write off some of its debts. Here, for instance, the IMF has been very clear that such writedowns are necessary to create reasonable conditions for a recovery. So far, the crisis has not led to any major turbulence on the financial markets, or to any other significantly negative effects in other countries. This means that developments as a whole can be said to be in line with our assessments.