speeches be what one can call a holistic, or comprehensive, view when formulating both types of policy. if both the credit cycle and the business cycle are to be stabilised in a good way, i do not believe that they can be too far from the policy mix implied by full coordination, at least not over a long period of time. the two types of policy could then counteract or reinforce one another in ways that would be harmful to the economy. it is probably also the case that this interplay is particularly important in sensitive situations, such as preventing a credit boom going too far and ensuring that the credit cycle has a slow, soft downturn instead of a rapid, dramatic one. this relates to an international discussion on whether the policy rate can play a role in stabilising the credit cycle, even when macroprudential policy is in place. 16 one reason why it might play a role is that it can be difficult to design a system for macroprudential policy that functions efficiently enough and cannot be circumvented by innovative market participants. if, for instance, the policy rate is kept low for a long period of time at the same time as macroprudential policy is relatively restrictive, there is a risk that a grey credit market will arise. the interest rate is of course a blunt instrument to use in stabilising the credit cycle, as it has a broad impact on the economy and a substantial effect on the economic cycle. however, one advantage of the broad impact of the policy rate is that it is therefore difficult to “ avoid ”, even for those who might be able to circumvent macroprudential policy. 17 some countries are also fairly explicit about giving the policy rate a role to play in subduing the credit cycle, as a complement to macroprudential tools. 18 in the same way as macroprudential policy can help ease the pressure on monetary policy, monetary policy can give support to macroprudential policy by leaning against the wind. thus, there are a number of questions regarding the interplay between macroprudential policy and monetary policy that require further consideration. central banks after the crisis – increased differences and country - specific solutions let me conclude by returning to the question i asked at the beginning – whether the central banks will conduct their operations differently after the crisis than they did before. the answer to that question is that it all depends. it is quite clear that a general conclusion from the crisis

lars nyberg : the swedish card payment market - current challenges and future developments speech by mr lars nyberg, deputy governor of sveriges riksbank, at scandinavian card markets, stockholm, on 3 february 2003. * * * to begin with, i would like to thank you for the invitation to participate in this conference. given the short time at my disposal, i will confine myself to discussing a few of the salient features of the evolution of the card payment market in sweden, identifying also the forces that appear to have driven this evolution. judging from the latest innovations in this area, i will touch upon possible future developments. lastly, in my capacity as central banker, i will talk about some relevant policy issues. the evolution of the card payment market in sweden let me start by making a few observations concerning the market development in sweden. 1. card payments have grown rapidly, but the use of cards is still far behind that of the other nordic countries ( fig. 1 ). between 1990 and 1997, the number of card payments per capita in sweden grew at a steady pace, picking up speed quickly at the end of the decade. still, when the new millennium started, the number was no more than half of what can be observed in the other nordic countries. this is somewhat surprising, considering that payments systems and payment patterns are otherwise quite similar in these countries. we have no convincing answer to why swedish consumers are less willing to use card payments than are their nordic neighbours. one possible explanation is that card payments are, or are just considered to be, more costly, more complicated or more risky, in sweden than elsewhere, by consumers or by terminal keepers. i will come back to this issue later. 2. swedish consumers use debit cards rather than credit cards ( fig. 2 ). concerning preferences between debit and credit cards, clearly, swedish card users favour debit cards, both in terms of value and volumes of transaction. in the year 2001, the number of debit card transactions amounted to just above 80 per cent of the total. charge cards dominate the remaining 20 per cent. credit cards with revolving credit arrangements do not seem to appeal to swedes. in this respect, swedish consumers'preferences are in line with those of consumers in the other nordic countries and with those of continental europeans. on the other hand, consumers in anglo - saxon countries seem to demand pure credit cards to a larger extent. cultural factors may account for the different preferences between credit and debit