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FI’s Board of Directors has decided to raise the countercyclical capital buffer to 2 per cent as of 19 March 2017.
FI has made the assessment that the risks related to financial imbalances have increased. Credit growth is high and lending to households has recently been increasing at an even faster rate.
“The risks for the financial system are increasing. High housing prices, low interest rates and strong economic growth in Sweden could also result in even more credit expansion,” says FI Director General Erik Thedéen.
FI finds that the risks have increased, compared to both June 2015 when the buffer was raised to 1.5 per cent and December 2015 when FI decided to leave the buffer unchanged.
In summary, FI makes the assessment that there are grounds to raise the countercyclical capital buffer in order to increase resilience in the financial system. This will improve the possibilities to manage any credit losses in the future.
In total, the increased capital need in the banks resulting from an increase in the countercyclical buffer rate from 1.5 to 2 per cent is estimated to amount to SEK 8.8 billion.
