To underpin the payment reforms undertaken by the Central Bank and enhance integrity and safety of such systems, a comprehensive legislation to govern payment, clearing and settlement systems in general and to provide the Central Bank with oversight and regulatory powers over various payment systems and money transfer service providers has been enacted through the Payment and Settlement Systems Act of 2005. The Act empowered the Central Bank to be the authority responsible for the national payment system, which requires oversight and continuous surveillance of all payment systems to ensure its efficiency and effectiveness. The systemically important payment systems will be reviewed periodically to ensure that the design and operation meet with international standards and best practice. Some of you may be aware that a couple of months ago, the Central Bank established a National Payments Council which is the highest decision making body with regard to payment systems. This committee represented by all stakeholders provides a forum for constant dialogue on payment issues to take place within the industry. The National Payments Council is responsible for developing the payment and settlements infrastructure in collaboration with all the relevant authorities and stakeholders. Currently, it is in the process of finalizing a road map for the development of the national payment system in the next five years, which will be in line with the vision of the financial sector.
In the most recent monetary policy update, from December, we saw ahead of us fairly strong GDP growth for this year and the next two years (Figure 11). GDP is expected to increase by an average of just over 3 per cent per year during the years 2010–2012. Swedish exports will also increase at the same rate as economic conditions in the rest of the world improve. Despite the weak development of incomes, private consumption is expected to continue to rise over the forecast period, due to increased optimism regarding the future. Investment is also expected to contribute towards GDP growth during the forecast period – first housing investment and public investment, and then also investment in the business sector. However, despite this growth in GDP, the economy will take a long time to recover. GDP is not expected to return to its pre-crisis level until 2011 (Figure 12). As a consequence, resource utilisation will be low during the forecast period. The labour market will also remain weak during the entire forecast period. Employment is expected to continue to fall this year, but to increase again next year (Figure 13). Unemployment will amount to approximately 10 per cent by the end of the year, but will then decrease over the following two years (Figure 14). The most recent Labour Force Surveys indicate a slightly better development than we expected in December. The manner in which this may affect the forecasts is a matter we will return to at our next monetary policy meeting on 10 February.