mr backstrom elucidates the economic situation in sweden and describes the consequences it may have for future monetary policy speech given by mr urban backstrom, governor of the sveriges riksbank at foreningssparbanken, ulricehamn on 1 september 1999. * * * first a word of thanks for the invitation to visit ulricehamn and talk about something that is close to the heart of a riksbank governor, namely sweden ’ s economic situation. i shall be describing the situation as i see it and saying something about the consequences it may have for future monetary policy. unexpectedly strong trend the new statistics in recent months show that economic activity is stronger than most forecasters had foreseen as recently as in the spring. the growth of both domestic and external demand has been higher than expected. relative to the first half of 1998, the gdp growth rate for the first six months of this year is an estimated 3. 7 %. most observers are in the process of revising their forecasts upwards, if they have not already done so. in the inflation report last june the riksbank judged that growth this year would reach 2. 5 %, followed by 3 % next year as well as in 2001. when the executive board discussed monetary policy on 12 august, however, our assessment was that this year ’ s growth rate would be 3. 5 %. we also saw grounds for an upward revision of growth in the next two years, though the prospects for that period are more uncertain. it is not just total output that has exceeded expectations. the same applies to employment. in the first half of 1999 there were approximately 100, 000 new jobs compared with the same period last year. much of the increase occurred in the private sector. this has been accompanied by decreased unemployment, if one disregards the temporary seasonal upturn during the summer. however, the reduction of unemployment is less marked than the increase in employment because many people are returning to the labour market now that jobs are becoming available. meanwhile, price increases have been moderate. the underlying rate of inflation ( undix, which measures inflation excluding interest expenditure, indirect taxes and subsidies ) fluctuated during the spring between 12 - month figures of 1. 0 and 1. 5 %. other indexes also point to low inflation, despite an increase in some commodity prices, oil in particular. altogether, then, the swedish economy is developing very well. we are now entering the seventh year of favourable economic growth –

home news & media press releases article “ much done, much more to do – climate risks and the banking sector ” – remarks by deputy governor sharon donnery “ much done, much more to do – climate risks and the banking sector ” – remarks by deputy governor sharon donnery 12 june 2023 speech remarks by sharon donnery, deputy governor, central bank of ireland and member of the supervisory board of the ecb at bpfi retail banking conference 2023 check against delivery good morning, i am delighted to be here. 1 thanks to brian and the bpfi team for the invitation to speak to you and to jose manuel for his own interesting remarks. i am here to talk about esg integration in the banking sector which of course covers many dimensions across the environmental, social and governance spectrum. a critical aspect of that integration is our collective response to climate change – something which is not just a risk for banks and their balance sheets, but an existential challenge facing us all. climate and environmental risks will be much of my focus today recognising that these represent only part of the sustainability regulatory journey. and while it is fair to say that governance in banking could be considered a more wellestablished pillar, more consideration is certainly needed on the social aspect. before i turn to this, however, i would like to say a few words about the current risk environment. challenging and uncertain times we published our first financial stability review of 20232 last wednesday, amidst what feels like particularly challenging and uncertain times. high inflation persists, and is eroding real incomes. interest rates have risen rapidly – and may stay elevated for longer. global growth has slowed, and is subject to significant downside risks. and as recent market turbulence has shown, vulnerabilities remain in the global financial system. in the face such challenges the irish economy and financial sector has so far proven itself resilient. household incomes and employment remain a key source of strength. a decade of deleveraging and more prudent lending standards leave our economy and financial system much less exposed. and in face of recent global banking concerns the benefits of robust regulation and supervision, prudent risk management practices and the strong capital and liquidity buffers we have collectively built in the irish banking system have proven their worth. but despite such resilience risks clearly remain. higher interest rates could lead to slower growth and expose vulnerabilities. and while net interest income is on the rise for banks, so too is credit risk