That group is being chaired by Stuart Siddall, Chief Executive of the ACT, and is due to issue a report in the next few months. Syndicated loans and asset backed securities A substantial part of lending to larger UK corporates is normally undertaken via syndicated loans. The Bank investigated whether there was a market failure or illiquidity premium in this market which could be addressed by making APF purchases. After a thorough investigation, the Bank concluded that what was needed was more large-scale bank funding, particularly to replace the foreign bank lenders who had been withdrawing from the UK market. But the appropriate way to address that was through the various schemes in place to support the banks. Similarly, the Bank investigated the state of securitisation markets. Here, there were two problems. First, many investors were extremely wary of buying mortgage-backed securities and similar products, because the crisis had raised uncertainty over their underlying risk characteristics. At the same time there was a huge outstanding stock of such assets already issued, which would swamp any operation aimed at improving liquidity. In the United States the authorities have undertaken substantial purchases of mortgage-backed securities, and funded the purchase of other securitised assets. It is not clear yet whether those markets will be self-sustainable once official intervention comes to an end. In the United Kingdom, we have made a range of ABS, including mortgage backed securities, eligible collateral in the Bank’s permanent liquidity insurance facilities as well as in the SLS.
Although uncertainty has increased, and economic activity abroad so far has been slightly weaker, the Swedish economy has developed largely in line with the outline we sketched in July. Moreover, the repo rate is still low. Swedish banks are stable The Riksbank has two main tasks. The first is to conduct monetary policy with the objective that inflation shall be low and stable. The second is to safeguard financial stability. The Riksbank therefore closely monitors developments in the financial markets. During the summer we have extended out monitoring as a result of the international turbulence. Swedish banks are still financially strong. They currently have good access to funding on all of the markets they normally use. The Riksbank’s stress tests also show that they have a good capacity to manage increased loan losses. But as the Swedish banks obtain funding largely through market borrowing in foreign currency, they are of course vulnerable to problems abroad. We currently have daily contacts with the banks and we have access to data on their funding. So far, there is nothing to indicate that it will be necessary for us to lend money to the banks. Next decision is on 6 September We are currently working hard on new analyses and forecasts for the monetary policy meeting on 6 September. I have today attempted to outline events during the summer and the issues I consider we will discuss at our next monetary policy meeting.