bank amongst others of breaching a fundamental tenet of labour law relating to “ equal pay for equal work ”. the bank could have done without the strained industrial relations that resulted from this imbroglio. following the judgment of the supreme court ( see below ), this matter is now taking a different course. the latest development at the time of writing is that the bank has now been declared non - compliant by the labour tribunal. i shall come back to this in the next report. – the introduction of new technology and new work processes – as well as the need to change the competency mix at the bank to enable it to deliver effectively on its widening mandate – necessitated the introduction of a voluntary retirement scheme. fifteen long - serving officers of the bank opted to proceed on early retirement under the scheme. this will enable the bank to recruit extra staff with a different profile without increasing our head count. – well beyond the salary review exercise, it is my earnest resolve to channel more effort towards achieving operational excellence. we shall strive to align our business processes with international standards and best practices. we propose to implement a performance review system tagged to productivity. i believe strongly in periodically reviewing our scorecards. – we will also push for innovative approaches to manage and develop our people, fortify our management team, and continuously restructure in order to adjust to the requirements of an ever - evolving financial landscape. landmark supreme court judgment and fact finding committee pursuant to an enduring feud between a majority of ( external ) members of the board of directors of the bank and the executive management, the supreme court delivered a significant judgment in march 2010, finding in favour of management. – the supreme court clarified that the board ’ s statutory remit is to formulate general policy and not to be involved in the day - to - day administration of the bank. this judgment not only helps to clearly situate responsibilities but also paves the way for much healthier deliberations in the boardroom. – the year was also marked by the establishment of a fact - finding committee, chaired by a highly - respected retired chief justice, sir victor glover, kt, gosk. coming just after the supreme court judgment, the report of the fact - finding committee put paid to the smear campaign against the governor and confirmed that he had acted intra vires, without any abuse of power or authority as charged by his detractors. words of appreciation i wish to express my gratitude to dr the honourable navinchandra ramgo

the proposal being based on the executive board ’ s historical behaviour rather than on the staff ’ s perception of what constitutes a well - balanced monetary policy is discussed by hallsten and tagtstrom in the article “ the decision - making process – how the executive board of the riksbank decides on the repo rate ” in sveriges riksbank economic review no. 1 2009 ( p. 78 ). if we members of the executive board consider that there are any special risks that should be examined, then simulations and sensitivity calculations are made for alternative scenarios. simulations are also regularly made with regard to illustrating the effects of conducting an alternative monetary policy. this part of the monetary policy decision - making process is important, as it provides a base for the executive board to be able to choose the decision alternative that appears to provide the best target fulfilment. the staff ’ s proposal for monetary policy is the most important base for the discussion at a longer meeting that includes a large number of analysts from the monetary policy department and the executive board, and which is normally held around two weeks prior to the monetary policy meeting. the financial stability department of the riksbank also plays an important role in the analysis work and therefore takes part in this meeting. the riksbank has always considered it important to monitor developments in the financial markets and in the swedish banks, and this has been particularly important in the forecasting work during the financial crisis. the executive board members ’ input is important at this meeting and may in particular affect the forecast for the repo rate. however, this has repercussions for the forecasting work as a whole, as the future repo rate affects most of the other variables in the forecasts. the executive board may also have views on other parts of the forecasts than the repo rate path, but the discussion usually mainly centres on what is a well - balanced monetary policy. at a shorter meeting that usually takes place the day after the large meeting, the members of the executive board have the opportunity to discuss the main scenario and give their views on it in a more limited circle. the executive board ’ s perceptions regarding the economy and thus monetary policy are then woven in with the other information in the monetary policy reports, including alternative scenarios and updates that provide background material for the monetary policy meetings. the forecasts and the monetary policy decisions the executive board ’ s priorities and perceptions the members of the executive board may have different perceptions regarding many different factors, which affect