An increasing number of banks and other credit institutions are offering savings via digital deposit platforms. This makes them more vulnerable since the deposits volume could decrease rapidly. FI notes in a report that some of the institutions do not sufficiently consider these risks, in part when calculating the liquidity buffer required for such deposits. A legal position specifies how we will interpret the rules.
Swedes hold a large amount of financial assets, but the distribution of these assets is very uneven. Most Swedes hold a small amount of financial assets, while 5 per cent of the population holds approximately half of all assets. Few have direct savings in shares or funds. Those with large loans can be vulnerable to weakened economic conditions and therefore in general have a greater need for a financial buffer. FI’s data indicates that many mortgagors hold a small amount of assets, at least with the same bank where they have their mortgage.
The new generative AI technology has spread rapidly and extensively throughout the Swedish financial sector. At the same time, the work to manage the risks accompanying the new technology is lagging behind. These are FI’s findings following a survey of firms’ use of AI.
An increasing number of consumers are falling victim to investment fraud. In a report to the Government, FI proposes, among other things, enhanced work to prevent investment fraud.
Many people find it difficult to make decisions about their finances. The majority of Swedes understand financial terms but are not knowledgeable about how these concepts impact their own finances. Finansinspektionen (FI) is releasing a report today that evaluates the authority’s work with financial education and identifies a number of areas where deficient financial literacy could impose significant risks on the consumer.
Amortisation requirements, the LTI ratio, and the LTV cap are macroprudential policy tools that are used in Sweden and many other countries. But what are the potential effects of these borrower-based measures? To answer to this question, Finansinspektionen commissioned two expert reports on the topic.
There are climate-related transition risks in Swedish banks’ lending portfolios. This is the conclusion of an analysis Finansinspektionen (FI) conducted by linking lending to individual firms to emissions data from firms that are included in the EU Emissions Trading System.
Fraud is a major and expanding societal problem that fosters organised crime. FI supervises that payment service providers follow the provisions set out in the Payment Services Act that aim to prevent fraud. Payment service providers do a lot to prevent their payments services from being used for fraud, but this problem is still growing.
There is a lot of work left to do before the financial market fully contributes to a sustainable economy. For example, firms need to be better at identifying and integrating sustainability risks. One condition for this is that they have the right competence in sustainability-related matters. Firms also are responsible for preventing their operations from being used for criminal purposes. These are several of the conclusions we draw in our sustainability report that is being published today.
Money laundering is a global problem that allows criminals to transact large sums of money without revealing their illegal activities. In order to counteract the risk of money laundering, FI has identified a number of areas where the risks are assessed to be particularly large and that we will have an extra focus on during the year.
FI has received an assignment from the Government to assess an increase in the loan-to-value (LTV) cap from 85 to 90 percent. At the same time, the Government proposes phasing out the tax deductibility for unsecured loans. We assess that an increase in the LTV cap would lead to higher household indebtedness and an increase in associated risks. This assessment holds even if interest rate deductions for unsecured loans are phased out. We also take the position that it is appropriate to await the results of the ongoing inquiry into both the LTV cap and the amortisation requirement and consider any changes to the measures comprehensively.
Digitalisation introduces both opportunities and risks to the financial market. After conducting a new survey, FI has noted that broader regulation on how customer data can be shared with third-party providers could make it easier for consumers to compare financial products such as occupational pensions and mortgages.
Finansinspektionen has conducted a survey into banks' administration of amortisation requirement exemptions, as an assignment from the government. The survey shows that banks have primarily handled amortisation requirement exemptions well. Banks have improved their procedures for handling exemptions, which have increased due to increased pressure on households' finances and more widespread knowledge within society about the possibility of receiving an exemption. The banks' improved procedures are an adjustment to this change.
Consumers’ need for supplementary insurance differs by age. Younger consumers have a greater need for this type of insurance, while older consumers often have little need for it. The need for gadget insurance is limited, and there is often no need for it at all. These are the conclusions of an in-depth analysis conducted by Finansinspektionen (FI).
A large portion of Swedish households’ loans is for their homes. But the households also use loans to finance some of their consumption. Consumption credit has grown rapidly in recent years. In terms of SEK, unsecured loans represent the largest share of consumer credit. In terms of volume, invoices are the most common form of consumer credit. These are some of the conclusions from Finansinspektionen’s (FI) survey of new consumer credit with data from 2021.
FI’s strategy for preventing greenwashing in the financial sector aims to safeguard the trust in sustainable investments and a sustainable finance market.
In 2019, FI’s overarching mandate was expanded to include a responsibility to ensure that the financial system contributes to sustainable development. FI is also the responsible supervisory authority for a number of new regulations related to sustainable finance that are the result of the EU’s ambitious sustainability agenda.
Changing or pausing the amortisation requirements is not an accurate or appropriate measure for helping the households with the greatest need for financial support to handle their higher costs. This is the conclusion of FI’s evaluation of how the amortisation requirements impact households with lower incomes and small margins in today’s difficult economy.
The Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority, Finansinspektionen (FI) has conducted an in-depth analysis of how managers of funds registered in Sweden that have sustainable investment as its objective (so-called Article 9 funds) meet the requirements on sustainability-related disclosures in the pre-contractual information they must provide to investors.
Finansinspektionen has analysed whether loyal policyholders pay higher premiums for the three non-life insurance products that are most important for consumers: home insurance (contents), home insurance (building) and private car insurance. The analysis shows that premiums for home insurance (contents) are raised significantly more for loyal customers than for new customers. The premiums for home insurance (building) also are raised more for loyal customers, but this does not apply to private car insurance.