Apart from the measures taken by the Riksbank, crisis measures taken by the Ministry of Finance and the National Debt Office of course affect costs (spreads) on the credit market. Fiscal policy stimulation measures also affect the costs of credit risk and thus the price of credit. We should also remember that supervisory and regulatory measures that establish different forms of constraint, for example capital adequacy requirements for the banks, can indirectly affect the price of credit. A question that we are wrestling with just now is how serious the credit crunch is and whether there is a risk that it will hit the non-financial sector so hard that it will have major repercussions on the real economy over and above the credit crunch that normally follows a recession that undermines the creditworthiness of companies and households. On the one hand the supply of credit declines when the banks want to shrink their balance sheets. Many companies in the Riksbank’s company survey state, for instance, that they are finding it difficult to borrow at longer maturities. On the other hand, the demand for credit should also  BIS Review 41/2009  13  decline as a consequence of weak economic activity. What can be done about this and what is the role of the central banks in easing the credit crunch? The Riksbank's view is that it is the financial system that as far as possible should be strengthened in order to ease the credit crunch.
On its part, the Bank will continue to support transition activities through the RM1 billion Low Carbon Transition Facility and other funds for SMEs which will complement funds extended by financial institutions to help SMEs implement sustainable low carbon practices. By 2024, we have also required all FIs to make disclosures in line with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Disclosures (TCFD). Given that such disclosures by FIs will ultimately depend on disclosures provided by their customers and counterparties, this will have implications on demands for climate-related information from businesses. Significant efforts are also being pursued to support climate risk management and transition through the Joint Committee on Climate Change, or JC3, which is co-chaired by the Bank and the Securities Commission. The JC3 serves as an industry-regulator collaborative platform to drive and coordinate the financial sector’s response to climate change. As part of efforts to scale up transition finance, JC3 is actively exploring pilot programmes to test new green solutions and instruments. In identifying suitable pilot projects, priority will be given to climate-friendly projects that can help develop the broader ecosystem for green finance, such as carbon accounting and measurement frameworks, climate data aggregators, or green credentialing standards. Another key deliverable of JC3 this year is the upcoming publication of a data catalogue that will point users to credible sources of critical climate data needed to support identified use cases.