Riksbank Policy Rate - Sweden Swedish Central Bank interest rate

Bank of Sweden (Riksbank)

The Swedish central bank is the oldest bank in the world and is also called Sveriges Riksbank or the Bank of Sweden. The Swedish central bank's most important task is to maintain the stability of the financial system. The aim of the monetary policy is price stability, i.e. low and stable inflation. At the moment the Bank of Sweden has set itself an inflation target (CPI) of around 2% per year.

Overview of the inflation rates in Sweden

Policy Rate

The most important tool that the central bank uses to influence inflation is the Policy Rate (formerly known as the Repo Rate). When reference is made to the Swedish interest rate this often refers to this Policy Rate (styrräntan, reporäntan). The Riksbank's Policy Rate is the interest rate at which banks can borrow or deposit money for a period of 7 days with the Riksbank.

By altering the level of the Policy Rate the Riksbank can exercise influence over the interest rates that banks apply to loans, mortgages and savings accounts, amongst other things. The Policy Rate is also a tool for controlling the amount of money in circulation and changes in the Policy Rate usually also affect the exchange rate of the Swedish Krona.