On the asset side, central banks have increased their holdings of government bonds and bonds issued by private enterprises and institutions. These holdings are matched on the liabilities side by increased deposits from private banks in the form of central bank reserves. The stock of central bank reserves in the US and UK is now five times larger than it was before the financial crisis. In the euro area, reserves have doubled in size. These figures provide a good illustration of the extent of the measures implemented. Such large increases in central bank reserves may evoke associations with historical examples of extensive government money printing. But this comparison only goes so far. Historically, money has usually been printed to finance government budget deficits. The increased money supply then had a direct effect on the economy through purchases of goods and services. The result has often been high and uncontrolled inflation. Quantitative easing is different. In the same way as traditional monetary policy, the way quantitative easing is able to influence the wider economy is through lower interest rates and higher securities prices. The transmission mechanism of quantitative easing to the real economy operates through several channels. First, the central banks’ purchases have supported their communication concerning future policy rates. When central banks purchase long-term government bonds, this is in itself a signal that policy rates will be kept low for a long time. This also pushes down interest rates on other securities.
4 Negative interest rates As I mentioned earlier, it has long been assumed that interest rates had to be positive. That barrier has now been broken by a number of central banks. They now operate a policy of negative rates with a view to bringing short-term market rates below zero. Two approaches are being used to achieve this. Chart: Sveriges Riksbank interest rates Sweden has chosen the first approach. The policy rate itself is a negative 0.35 percent. This is combined with normal liquidity management without excess reserves in the banking system. As a result, the shortest money market rates are also negative. 5 The central banks in the euro area, Switzerland and Denmark have chosen a different approach. Policy rates are zero or marginally positive, while the reserve rate is negative. At the same time, there are substantial excess reserves in the banking system. The reserve rate is a negative 0.75 percent in Switzerland and Denmark and a negative 0.2 percent in the euro area. 6 Maintaining large excess reserves is a deliberate policy. These central banks have supplied liquidity to the market and intentionally used the excess reserves to push down the overnight interbank rate towards the reserve rate. The central banks of Denmark and Switzerland have achieved this by purchasing foreign currency to counteract an appreciation of the exchange rate. By also permitting short-term money market rates to become negative, they have made the domestic currency less attractive.