corporate lending and simultaneously help to keep the large swedish mortgage bond market running. we have also cut the lending rate for riksbank loans overnight to banks from 0. 75 to 0. 20 per cent. in addition, banks are being offered the opportunity to borrow an unlimited amount of money each week against collateral at three months ’ maturity at an interest rate of 0. 20 percentage points above the repo rate, which is at zero per cent. in addition to this, the executive board has decided that the riksbank will extend its purchases of securities by up to sek 300 billion up until december. the riksbank normally buys government bonds. in these exceptional circumstances, however, it is important to ensure that all major markets continue to function. for this reason, the riksbank has now also begun to purchase mortgage bonds and will purchase municipal bonds. in the last few days, corporate bonds and commercial paper issued by swedish non - financial corporations have also been included in the asset - buying programme. these bond purchases increase the access to credit in the economy in general and future purchases of corporate bonds and commercial paper will provide additional support to swedish companies in particular. just like the riksbank ’ s previous purchases of government bonds, the new purchases will also help to keep monetary policy expansionary and to stimulate activity in the economy. given the global nature of the crisis, it is also important to ensure that there is access to us dollars ( usd ) in the swedish financial system. to strengthen access to one of the most important currencies for swedish companies, the riksbank has announced that we will lend up to usd 60 billion. 3 the idea of all these seven measures is that together they will function as a type of insurance for the swedish economy. this is a point that needs to be reiterated. the purpose of the measures is to prevent problems on the financial markets which in turn exacerbate the situation for swedish companies. the riksbank is supplying banks with money almost free of charge to create the conditions for companies to gain access to loans if and when they most need them. banks having good liquidity themselves and not seeing a need to participate in the riksbank ’ s programme can be a positive sign. it means that companies should not have problems obtaining bank loans and the riksbank ’ s measures act as an insurance that this will continue to be the case. another point that is worth reiterating is the magnitude of our measures. the programme of corporate lending

speech date : 3 april 2020 speaker : governor of the riksbank stefan ingves venue : www. riksbank. se sveriges riksbank se - 103 37 stockholm ( brunkebergstorg 11 ) tel + 46 8 787 00 00 fax + 46 8 21 05 31 registratorn @ riksbank. se www. riksbank. se the riksbank ’ s measures to mitigate the effects of the corona crisis on the economy these last three weeks have been some of the most dramatic sweden has experienced in modern times. on 10 march, we told the parliamentary committee on finance that the assessments described in the monetary policy report from february had become entirely irrelevant. 1 we already knew then that the swedish economy would be affected by the coronavirus. what we did not know, however, was the force and extent of the impact. our message then was that the riksbank was ready to act to mitigate the negative effects on the economy. since then, we have spoken to both companies and banks, and we have implemented a number of measures. today, i ’ d like to talk about what we have done and how the measures are contributing to the ongoing economic crisis management effort. “ everything has changed in two weeks ” “ everything has changed in two weeks ” this was one of the quotes from the companies we have interviewed on account of the corona pandemic2. the fact is that the situation is changing so rapidly that it is difficult to form an idea of exactly how bad things are in the economy. i have never previously experienced such rapid change, despite this being the third major economic crisis in sweden that i have been involved in. the riksbank is tracking indicators and also interviewing more companies than normal in order to get an idea of how the situation is changing from day to day and from week to week. what is beyond a shadow of a doubt, however, is that many in society are struggling right now. my thoughts are obviously with all the country ’ s fantastic health workers who are on the front line. on a personal level, many are also struggling https : / / www. riksbank. se / en - gb / press - and - published / notices - and - press - releases / press - releases / 2020 / ingvesand - breman - at - riksdag - committee - on - finance - the - riksbank - is - prepared - to - act / https : / /