2010 Press release 03 September 2010 Ministry of Finance International press conference with Minister for Finance Anders Borg Due to great demand from the international media, Anders Borg invites foreign journalists to a press conference on the Swedish economy, the financial troubles in Europe and his view of the Swedish election campaign, to be held on 8 September. The press conference will be held in English. Mr Borg will be available afterwards for brief interviews. The press conference will be held in English. Please note that accreditation is required - apply to [email protected] before 17.00 on Monday 6 September. Please bring your press credentials. We look forward to seeing you. Time and place 14.00 on 8 September 2010 International Press Centre, Fredsgatan 6, Stockholm. Contact Anna Charlotta Johansson Press Secretary +46 8 405 10 00 Markus Sjöqvist Press Secretary to Anders Borg +46 8 405 10 00 Press release 23 July 2010 Ministry of Finance European stress test shows good results for Swedish banks The Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS) has in cooperation with the national supervisory authorities conducted a stress test on European banks, among these four Swedish banks. The results confirm previous Swedish stress tests. The Ministry of Finance acknowledges the outcome of the EU-wide stress test and supports this joint effort. "It is pleasing that we have been able to convey the traditional Swedish policy of openness and transparency. The publication of the stress test results, also for individual banks, is very important in order to restore confidence in the European banking system," says Minister for Finance Anders Borg. External links Web page of The stress test was applied to 91 banks in total, representing a aggregate market share of the European Finansinspektionen banking sector of more than 65 percent. The stress test includes a hypothetical scenario based on the Web page of CEBS assumption of a recession both in 2010 and 2011 as well as a significant increase in interest rates. In addition, banks' exposures to sovereign risk is tested. The objective of the stress test is to assess the banks strength and ability to manage economic chocks and to identify possible capital needs. In the interpretation of this outcome, the results of the adverse scenario should not be considered as representative of the current situation. A stress testing exercise does not provide forecasts of expected outcomes since the adverse scenarios are designed as "what-if" scenarios including plausible but extreme assumptions, which are therefore not very likely to materialize. Experience from the United States and Sweden has shown that this type of tests re-establish confidence in the banking system. The results of the now performed test show that the four Swedish banks pass the test requirements well above margin. The Swedish banks are well capitalised and are resilient to withstand possible negative chocks. "It is very satisfying to see how well the Swedish banks perform in this stress test. The results confirm the positive outcome of previous Swedish stress tests made by the financial supervisory authority and the central bank," says Minister for Financial Markets Mats Odell. The Ministry of Finance is nevertheless committed to secure financial stability, should the economic conditions worsen and private funding not be sufficient. Even though the Swedish banks are well capitalised and the dependence on Government support is low, the support measures should not be withdrawn too early. In view of the concerns regarding public finances in some countries and the contagion risk, the Government has made the assessment that the support measures should remain in place for cautionary purposes. Through the support measures that the Government has introduced since the outburst of the financial crisis, the Government can act forcefully in order to manage different situations that may arise. For this purpose, Sweden has currently in place a guarantee scheme and a recapitalisation scheme. All measures need to comply fully with EU state aid rules. The guarantee scheme has recently been extended and is currently in place until to 31 December 2010. The total financial limit for the guarantee scheme is 1,500 billion Swedish kronor, and the outstanding guarantees by the end of June 2010 was approximately 200 billion Swedish kronor. The recapitalisation scheme has been extended and runs up until the 17th February 2011. It comprises at most SEK 50 billion, and as of June 2010 5.6 billion Swedish kronor has been utilized. For information regarding the stress test results of individual banks see Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority website www.fi.se and CEBS website www.c-ebs.org Contact Daniel Valiollahi Press Secretary +46 8 405 10 00 Sarah Lundgren Acting Press Secretary to Mats Odell +46 8 405 22 17 +46 70 385 99 91 Press release 28 May 2010 Ministry of Finance Ministry for Foreign Affairs Press invitation: World Bank Senior Vice President Justin Yifu Lin, Minister for Finance Anders Borg and Minister for Internatio In connection with the opening of the Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics (ABCDE) taking place in Stockholm, May 31- June 2 at Clarion Hotel Sign, Stockholm, Anders Borg, Minister for Finance and Gunilla Carlsson, Minister for International Development Cooperation, and Justin Yifu Lin, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist at the World Bank, will hold a Press Conference. Time and place Related Monday 31 May at 08h30-09h10 in Press Conference Room C4, Clarion Hotel Sign, Östra Järnvägsgatan 35. Read more about ABCDE At the ABCDE - Conference there will be opportunities to meet and undertake interviews with some of the world's most prominent and influential thinkers and researchers in development economics. Download The ABCDE - Conference will be hosted by the Swedish Minister of Finance, Mr Anders Borg and the Swedish Agenda ABCDE as of May 26 Minister of International Development Cooperation, Ms Gunilla Carlsson and The World Bank. Speakers (pdf 258 kB) include Nobel Laureates Elinor Ostrom, Joseph Stiglitz, Eric Maskin, James Mirrlees and Robert Solow as well Plenary Sessions and as World Bank Senior Vice President and Chief Economist, Justin Yifu Lin. Development Debate, Keynote, Author, and Discussant Bios (pdf 256 kB) Research issues to be discussed cover some of the most urgent global challenges, such as environment and climate change, development in light of the financial and economic crisis, fragile states and human and social developments. The conference will be rounded off with a Development Debate on "Development Challenges in a Post-Crisis World", with three Nobel Laureates. The debate will be part of the World Bank's new External links Development Debates initiative. This session will be moderated by BBC Economics Editor, Ms. Stephanie Flanders. ABCDE Sweden - Development Challenges in a Post-Crisis World at World The ABCDE-Conference was first organized in 1989 and has, since then, been established as one of the most Worldbank's website prominent annual conferences on development economics. This year's conference is being co-organised by the Swedish Government and the World Bank, and it will gather around 600 delegates and experts from all over the world. For more information about the conference and to access an updated agenda you will find a link to the conference website: www.sweden.gov.se/abcde2010 Media Accreditation: Accreditation is necessary and journalists are invited to register with Ms. Pernilla Stålhammar, [email protected] at the ABCDE-Secretariat. If possible, please register by sending an email with your name, title, and affiliation. Requests for interviews are welcome and we will try to accommodate such requests, provided the persons concerned have time available. Conference badges will be handed out at the registration desk at Clarion Sign Hotel. The Registration desk will be open May 30 15h10-20h30, May 31-June 1 07h30-19h10 and June 2 07h30-13h10. Please note that conference badges for media will only be issued upon presentation of press credentials bearing a photograph. A Press Centre will be open May 31-June 1 08h10-19h10 and June 2 08h10-15h10. Contact Pernilla Stålhammar ABCDE-Secretariat, Department for Development Policy, Ministry for Foreign Affairs +46 8 405 49 64 +46 72 230 31 26 email to Pernilla Stålhammar Sara Brandt-Hansen Press Officer, Ministry for Foreign Affairs +46 8 405 81 03 +46 702 57 56 56 email to Sara Brandt-Hansen Julia Hector Desk Officer, ABCDE-Secretariat, Department for Development Policy, Ministry for Foreign Affairs +46 8 405 82 02 +46 70 300 77 53 email to Julia Hector Anna Charlotta Johansson Press Secretary +46 8 405 10 00 Peter Larsson +46 8 405 10 00 Dr Mia Horn af Rantzien Director of ABCDE-Secretariat, Ministry for Foreign Affairs +46 8 405 52 57 +46 76 140 24 00 email to Dr Mia Horn af Rantzien Press release 20 May 2010 Ministry of Finance Ministry for Foreign Affairs Economic heavyweights come to Stockholm to discuss development challenges in a post-crisis world We invite you to take part in, broadcast, and undertake interviews with some of the world's most prominent and influential thinkers and researchers in development economics at the Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics (ABCDE) held in Stockholm, May 31-June 2 at Clarion Hotel, Sign. Please note, that due to a very big interest in the conference, we can unfortunately not accept any more participants as we have reached maximum capacity. This invitation is for the media only. The conference will be hosted by the Swedish Minister of Finance, Mr Anders Borg and the Swedish Minister of International Development Cooperation, Ms Gunilla Carlsson and The World Bank. Speakers include Nobel Laureates Elinor Ostrom, Joseph Stiglitz, Eric Maskin, James Mirrlees and Robert Solow as well as World Download Bank Senior Vice President and Chief Economist, Justin Yifu Lin.