implemented after the severe economic crisis at the beginning of the 1990s – with an explicit inflation target for monetary policy and clear regulations for fiscal policy – has given economic policy as a whole a more long - term character and greater stability. closely linked to this is our independent position as written into the law in 1999 and the shaping of our role as public authority. and i am fairly certain that this is to a great extent due to the fact that we have purposefully worked to attain greater openness and clarity. this provides prerequisites for evaluation, accountability and thus creates legitimacy. all of these factors have contributed to winning confidence in our monetary policy. but the process does not stop here. it is not possible to " rest on one ’ s laurels ” when one works with monetary policy. no, we must keep on adapting to new requirements ; we must develop and refine our methods. one expression of this is that we have recently made several changes to become clearer and more efficient in our communication. the fact that we always have these ambitions is something that the general public and our principal, the riksdag, as well as agents in the financial markets can demand of us. thank you!

for calibrating economic activity and maintaining price stability. a fundamental initiative of the bsp to support capital market development is the shift to inflation targeting, and the higher level of policy transparency that it requires, as basis for the conduct of our monetary policy in achieving price stability. a stable price environment is a central pillar towards securing overall macroeconomic stability, in turn a necessary pre - condition to capital market development. although recent acceleration in inflation has been mostly supply side driven, the bsp remains very cautious with its monetary policy stance while retaining the flexibility to support economic growth. this is the usual balancing act that is the traditional measure of the mettle of a central bank. but preserving price stability is really a cooperative endeavor and the government has responded with measures to mitigate supply - side pressures through increased price monitoring of staple foodstuff, ensure supply of commodities through higher productivity in agriculture and industry, and lessening dependence to imported fuel and energy prices. the bsp has launched major reform initiatives in the banking sector where we have direct responsibility as its supervisor. key initiatives include strengthening corporate governance and transparency, clearing - out non - performing assets and strengthening bank balance sheets through better liability management and recapitalization, upgrading risk management standards, and improving consumer protection. consistent with these objectives, we have been systematically aligning our regulations with key international standards such as the basle committee recommendations on supervisory practices and on capital adequacy, the ias / ifrs standards for the proper accounting and disclosure of financial transactions, oecd principles on good corporate governance. we are likewise closely consulting with our peer central banks and bank regulators to learn from their rich experiences. these have yielded a slew of regulatory changes and others yet to come that will radically change the rules of the game for our banking industry. for the better, we are convinced. we believe that the changes will also further hasten the long overdue consolidation in our banking industry that is essential to make it stronger. the rigors of international standards and the growing presence of international level competitions will inexorably hasten the exit of weak institutions that are unwilling to reform. the proposed amendment of the bsp charter is a very critical element in the banking reform agenda. we are particularly seeking changes to strengthen the institutional arrangements for banking supervision that will enable us to fully comply with best international practice. the most critical changes include strengthening the basic legal protection of bank supervisors in the course of performing their official duties and improving the ability of the bs