retail trade has been high in the past few years. intensified competition may also have contributed to curbing the rise in prices for banking and insurance services. several factors point to higher inflation in the period ahead. capacity utilisation in the norwegian economy is picking up. this will contribute to a higher rise in prices for domestically produced goods and services. a tighter labour market will probably lead to higher wage growth in the coming years. high energy prices are feeding through to producer input prices. outlook for the years ahead growth in disposable income has been high in recent years. lower interest expenses and relatively high real wage growth have resulted in an increase in household purchasing power. the rise in house prices may also have fuelled growth in private consumption. with high growth in employment and falling unemployment, consumption growth is expected to be high again this year. since the publication of the june inflation report, electricity prices have increased to a further extent than expected. forward prices for next winter have also increased. higher electricity prices may in isolation reduce household purchasing power somewhat. on the other hand, growth in household income is high and market expectations indicate a fall in electricity prices later next year. a continued rise in house prices may contribute to holding up consumption growth. house prices increased further this summer, and the twelve - month rise moved up to 17. 7 per cent in august. residential construction is still high. in 2005, the number of housing starts was the highest since the beginning of the 1980s. as the interest rate level gradually normalises, household interest expenses will increase. combined with projected lower employment growth and higher inflation, this might reduce growth in household purchasing power in the years ahead. higher wage growth would have the opposite effect. overall, moderate growth in household purchasing power is expected to result in lower consumption growth ahead. a gradual increase in the interest rate will probably curb activity in the housing market. housing investment is expected to grow through this year, albeit less rapidly than last year. housing investment growth will thereafter moderate further, and may fall somewhat towards the end of the projection period. house price inflation is expected to slow. household indebtedness has increased in tandem with high activity in the housing market. growth in household debt ( c2 ) has abated somewhat in recent months, but remains at a high level. higher interest rates and lower house price inflation will gradually reduce household debt growth in the next few years. growth in credit to mainland enterprises has also shown a sharp increase over the past year, partly reflecting

opening remarks by deputy governor sharon donnery - " the future of payments in ireland and europe " 28 april 2021 speech view slides used during the presentation. good afternoon and i am delighted to welcome you today ( virtually ) to the central bank for what promises to be a stimulating discussion on the future of payments in ireland and europe. 1 one of the statutory objectives of the central bank of ireland is to ensure that “ payment, settlement, and currency systems are safe, resilient and ef cient and that access to such systems is not restricted ”. financial stability, a core mandate of the central bank, is heavily supported by, and dependent on, the smooth functioning of the payments system. these two objectives are at the core of our work on payments, today and into the future. the payments system we use today, and innovations to come, are a far cry from what we were using when the central bank was established in 1943. however, the values of trust, resilience and access remain central to the safe delivery and functioning of our payments systems. maintaining public trust in these systems is a cornerstone underpinning our mission to safeguard monetary and nancial stability and to protect consumers. this includes maintaining trust in traditional payment instruments, such as banknotes, and new digital means of payment, along with the underlying payment infrastructures and systems. today i will rst consider the environment we are in ; the changing payments landscape, referring both to the impact on consumer behaviour from the pandemic, but also the pre - existing trends in terms of speed of payments and innovation. i will discuss our approach to these developments ; working with our partners in europe to strengthen the integration of our payments systems, maintaining trust and security, ensuring access and promoting choice. finally, i will touch on a possible future of payments that might include a digital euro. role of payments and money before i consider the changing payments environment and the future outlook, let me rst brie y touch on the foundations of money and payments that together make up the fundamentals of the monetary system. as the world of payments is in a state of change and remarkable innovation, it is important to remember the core needs of society and the economy, so as we adapt our payments systems in this changing environment we continue to deliver safe, ef cient and resilient payment systems. as ecb president lagarde said, “ we have a duty to play an active role in balancing the risks and bene ts of innovation