, motor vehicle records ). however, - 6the biggest difference concerns the type of signatures covered, electronic signatures versus digital signatures, and the effect of those signatures on electronic documents. the more general term - - electronic signature - - can be used to describe any letters, characters, or symbols manifested by electronic or similar means and executed or adopted by a party with an intent to authenticate a writing. examples of an electronic signature include a name typed at the end of an e - mail message by the sender or a digitalized image of a handwritten signature of the sender. a “ digital signature ” is a subset of electronic signatures and represents a unique way to “ sign ” an electronic message. a digital signature is simply a string of alpha - numeric characters. it is created by running an electronic message through a one - way hash function ( thereby creating a unique digest or fingerprint of the message ) and then using public key cryptography to encrypt the resulting message digest. like all electronic signatures, a digital signature can serve the same function as a handwritten signature in that it can be used to signify authorship or assent. a digital signature, however, also serves an important security function that a handwritten signature and many electronic signatures may not. because of the use of the hash function, a digital signature allows the receiver of a message to determine whether the message has been altered since it was digitally signed. state legislation in this area tends to address either electronic signatures ( 23 states ) or digital signatures ( 16 states ), but not both. states with legislation on electronic signatures differ on the question of what qualifies as an electronic signature. several states have taken the ucc article 1 approach and recognize any form of electronic mark intended to serve as an electronic signature. other states, however, require that several conditions be met before an electronic signature will be legally enforceable. generally, for these states, in order for an electronic signature to be effective it must : ( 1 ) be unique to the person using it ; ( 2 ) be capable of verification ; ( 3 ) be under the sole control of the person using it ; ( 4 ) be linked to the data in such a manner that if the data is changed the signature is invalidated ; and ( 5 ) conform to regulations adopted by the secretary of state. digital signature statutes typically provide for the promulgation of regulations governing the implementation and use of a digital signature infrastructure. the digital signature infrastructure contemplated by these statutes

a framework in place, with a clear division of responsibility and which clarifies how the various instruments should be used. one reason why monetary policy in sweden has needed to give consideration to financial imbalances is because there has been no framework for macroprudential policy. while awaiting a permanent framework in sweden, the riksbank and finansinspektionen started a joint council for cooperation on macroprudential policy at the beginning of 2012. but even if this council offers an important forum for analysis and discussion, it has no powers of decision - making and no tools of its own at its disposal. two days ago, however, the financial crisis committee produced a proposal for macroprudential policy in sweden – which i will return to later on. central banks should play an important role in macroprudential policy when drawing up a framework for macroprudential policy in sweden, i think there are good reasons for giving the riksbank a central role. one important reason is that the riksbank has long been conducting extensive analysis of macroprudential policy issues. ever since the swedish bank crisis in the early 1990s, the riksbank has gradually built up substantial knowledge and experience of analysing the risks that can threaten the stability of the financial system. the basis for this was the bank ’ s task of promoting a safe and efficient payment system – what we in practice define as financial stability. 10 in 1997 the riksbank began publishing its assessment of the stability of the financial system, in the form of the financial stability report, published twice a year. it was one of the first central banks in the world to do this. the special macroprudential policy division at the riksbank ’ s financial stability department has as one of its tasks to assess the need for specific macroprudential policy measures. the riksbank ’ s monetary policy department has long conducted macroeconomic analysis to provide a good guidance for interest - rate decisions, which are based on macroeconomic analyses and forecasts. the analysis of financial stability, combined with the monetary policy analysis, provides good grounds for understanding the repercussions between the financial and real economy, which is essential for successful macroprudential policy. in recent years the cooperation between the financial stability and monetary policy departments at the riksbank has intensified. there are also clear links between monetary policy and macroprudential policy. both policy areas ultimately aim for a stable macroeconomic development – macro