How the Riksbank is scrutinised

It is important that the Riksbank be evaluated and scrutinised effectively, since the Riksdag has given the Riksbank independent status. Consequently, the Riksbank must be as open as possible about what our decisions are based on and how we conduct our operations, to make it easier for those who scrutinise us – primarily the Riksdag but also organisations in the public and private sectors, the media, the financial markets and the general public.

Review of the Riksbank by the Riksdag, the General Council and the National Audit Office

In the Riksdag, it is the Committee on Finance that monitors and evaluates the Riksbank’s activities. This is done partly through hearings of the Governor and other members of the Executive Board, partly through thematic follow-ups and evaluations and through annual assessments of monetary policy. Every year, the Committee on Finance commissions external experts to evaluate the Riksbank’s monetary policy decisions. Every five years, this review is carried out by foreign experts.

One of the tasks of the General Council of the Riksbank, which is appointed by the Riksdag and which, in turn, appoints the members of the Executive Board of the Riksbank, is to enable the Riksdag to gain insight into the Riksbank’s activities. The General Council monitors the work of the Executive Board and the operations of the Riksbank. The General Council has an audit function that scrutinises the work of the Executive Board. The General Council of the Riksbank adopts an annual plan for the work of the audit function and reports its observations to the Committee on Finance.

The Swedish National Audit Office is tasked with annually auditing the Riksbank’s annual accounts, including the balance sheet and profit and loss account, and ensuring that its activities comply with applicable regulations. The National Audit Office can also decide to order an efficiency audit.

Media scrutiny of the Riksbank

Media scrutiny is particularly important for the Riksbank to maintain public confidence. To achieve a high level of transparency towards the media, we therefore have two keywords for our communication: open and clear.

Private financial information of Executive Board members – reported to the Riksdag

The Governor, the First Deputy Governor and the Deputy Governors (the Executive Board) shall each report certain private financial information to the Riksdag in writing.

The information is public and is reported in order to ensure that the objectivity and impartiality of the Executive Board cannot be questioned. The members of the Executive Board shall report:

• holdings and regular savings in funds
• other holdings of financial instruments, e.g. shares, units in funds in which no regular deposits are made
• participations in limited partnerships, economic associations (apart from tenant-owner housing associations) and participations in equivalent foreign legal entities
• ownership of commercial property
• salary or pension benefits from previous employers, and
• loans or other debts, the interest rate on them, whether the interest rate is variable or fixed and the extent of amortisation

Notification is made to the Riksdag at the start of employment. Changes must then be reported on an ongoing basis (if they fulfil certain predetermined requirements) within four weeks of the change taking place. The Riksdag is responsible for checking that members comply with the reporting obligation. The General Council’s auditor confirms the accuracy of the data. The information can be requested from the Secretariat of the Chamber.

The General Council also reports data

The Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson of the General Council of the Riksbank are subject to the same notification obligation as the members of the Executive Board. This information is public. Other members of the General Council of the Riksbank must declare their holdings but their obligation to declare is not as extensive as for the Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson. Other members’ information is subject to confidentiality under Chapter 32, Section 6 of the Freedom of Information and Secrecy Act.

The Riksdag is responsible for checking that members of the General Council of the Riksbank comply with the notification requirement.

Here is what the law says about what must be reported

The notification obligation is regulated by the Sveriges Riksbank Act, Chapter 7, Section 20-22, on Reporting Holdings of Financial Instruments and is specified in the Riksbank’s Code of Ethics.

Employees’ private financial information

Employees at the Riksbank may not act in a way that calls their objectivity and impartiality into question. For this reason, certain employees at the Riksbank must also report their holdings of funds and shares, for example. This obligation is regulated in the Sveriges Riksbank Act and specified in the Riksbank’s Code of Ethics.

The purpose of the reporting obligation is primarily to enable the Riksbank to monitor compliance with the prohibition on insider trading but also to strengthen confidence in the Riksbank and its employees.