The industrial companies tried to make use of their promised loan facilities with the banks, but the banks were not able to lend money as usual. This resulted in a credit gridlock, which severely limited the access to loans. The problems spread from the United States to Europe and the European credit system also essentially ceased functioning. This meant that the Swedish banks and the Swedish financial system also suffered problems. BIS Review 149/2008  1  …followed by countermeasures and stabilisation In this situation governments, central banks and other authorities were forced to intervene to avoid a collapse in the global financial system. Without these measures the financial markets would most probably have ceased functioning – things were so serious. The measures have taken different forms in different countries, but two main types can be identified. The first is that the banks have been offered risk capital or other guarantees so that they can survive the crisis. The aim is to avoid more defaults like Lehman Brothers occurring when the financial market is so vulnerable. Those who lend money to a bank should be able to feel certain that the bank will still be there when it is time to repay the loan. The second type of measure is that the central banks have continuously supplied the banks with the short and medium-term loans they have not been able to obtain in the usual way on the market.
Putting all of the responsibility on monetary policy would probably mean such high interest rates that they would have seriously negative repercussions for the real economy. Moreover, the argument remains that it is difficult to determine when a credit boom changes from being beneficial for growth to becoming a risk that can trigger a financial crisis. I nevertheless think that the crisis has taught us that when we conduct monetary policy we must also follow a number of variables that are linked to the build-up of risk in the financial markets, primarily credit growth in different sectors of the economy. The fact that monetary policy alone cannot prevent financial crises does not mean that we can only look at an inflation target and otherwise disregard what a long period of low interest rates may entail with regard to risks in the financial system. This is also the view the Riksbank has expressed  BIS Review 149/2008  5  in recent years, occasionally, one must say under strong criticism from both academics and various other parties in society. Monetary policy can alleviate the consequences of the financial crisis The financial crisis has meant that the focus normally placed on monetary policy has been transferred to the measures taken to safeguard financial stability. Monetary policy cannot be used to resolve acute problems in the financial markets. This requires a different type of measure, as I have already described. What role can monetary policy then play in the current situation?