This describes our assessment of the stability of the financial system, as well as various risks and threats to this stability. From an international perspective, the Riksbank’s work on stability analysis has been at the cutting edge.1 We were the first central bank in the world to publish a stability report, and we  1  See, for example, Allen et al. (2004), who have carried out an independent assessment of the Riksbank’s stability work. BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  were also among the first to carry out stress tests describing the banks’ resilience to various types of shock.2 Assessing the banks’ credit risk, which is to say the risk that the banks would not recover the money they had lent, was an important part of this analysis work. It was just this kind of risk that had led to such large losses for the banks in the banking crisis at the start of the 1990s. Consequently, the risks we emphasised in the stability reports were primarily associated with credit risk. We warned of the risks but missed the one that would give us problems In the years leading up to the financial crisis, we made overall assessments along the lines of “financial stability in Sweden is satisfactory” (Financial Stability Report, June 2008). The four Swedish major banks (Handelsbanken, Nordea, SEB and Swedbank) were profitable and hade enough capital to withstand possible shocks. However, we also pointed out risks, sharpening our tone when the risks became more apparent, just before the crisis.
Fahad Almubarak: Top achievements of the monetary sector during the past decade Speech by H E Dr Fahad Almubarak, Governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, at the National Day, Riyadh, 25 September 2014. *  *  *  Our beloved country is celebrating its 84th national day, which is very dear occasion to all of us. The march of welfare and building continues under the prudent leadership of the Kingdom. SAMA’s employees are overwhelmed with happiness on this occasion in light of the achievements of the monetary policy by focusing on the interests of the country and citizens. SAMA’s balanced monetary policy has contributed to strengthening the stability of the national economy during stages of global stress and turbulence. As a result, the credit rating of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been upgraded. Fitch upgraded the Kingdom’s sovereign credit rating to AA from AA- with a stable outlook. Over the past ten years, the banking sector witnessed a great development quantitatively and qualitatively. M3 rose by 270 percent to SAR 1,669.3 billion at the end of July 2014 against an increase of SAR 451.3 billion at the end of July 2004. Total bank deposits also went up by 284.5 percent to SAR 1,520.6 billion in the same period. Total commercial banks’ claims on the private and public sectors grew by 193.3 percent to SAR 1,314.4 billion at the end of July 2014 compared to SAR 447.8 billion at the end of July 2004.