10  BIS Review 138/2008  To ”promote a safe and efficient payment system” Preventive work and preparedness to take action   Regularly analyse threats and risks to financial stability    Preparedness and crisis exercises    Various tools when shocks occur, such as; Information and dialogue with the market  Supply liquidity on special terms     Contact and cooperation with other authorities, in Sweden and abroad  The Riksbank’s measures to ensure the financial system will function more normally   Loans in SEK and USD against collateral and at an interest rate    Special loan facility in SEK with new commercial paper as collateral    Changed collateral requirements    Liquidity assistance to;    Kaupthing Bank Sverige AB. Carnegie Investment Bank AB  Note: Carnegie is now owned by the Swedish National Debt Office and the Riksbank’s liquidity assistance has been repaid  BIS Review 138/2008  11  M easures taken by the state  Riksbank  SEK 390 billion   Swedish National  Debt Office  SEK 116 billion  Has taken over Carnegie Investment Bank AB  Guarantee programme (max total SEK 1500 billion)    Government  Finansinspektionen  (Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority)  M onetary policy and the international financial crisis  A small, export-dependent economy   Affected by international developments   Counteract the effects of the crisis!
With regard to legislation, I also believe that further supplementary measures will be needed in future. I will return to this later on. During the recent financial turbulence the Riksbank has not only had regular contacts with other authorities and the political system – we have also had closer contacts with market participants than usual. Central banks around the world have also had close cooperation with regard to reducing the strains in the financial markets in various ways. So what have we at the Riksbank done to make the markets function better? Improving the functioning of the markets The Swedish banks have mainly experienced two problems. One has been the lack of access to more long-term funding in Swedish kronor. The other has been the limited possibilities to borrow in US dollars. As I mentioned earlier, it has been much more difficult and costly for the banks to obtain financing other than at very short maturities. The banks’ possibility to finance themselves is of course important to financial stability. It also affects other interest rates in the economy and thereby the impact of monetary policy. We at the Riksbank try to counteract these effects of the financial turmoil. We have therefore offered the banks financing – against collateral and at an interest rate – at longer durations than normal, and than what is currently available in the markets. We have so far granted loans in Swedish kronor at maturities of three months and six months to a total of SEK 203 billion.