More lending, negative rates are options for Swedish central bank

Stockholm: Sweden’s central bank could pump more money into the economy through lending and/or start charging depositors with so-called negative rates, Riksbank Governor Stefan Ingves said in the minutes of the bank’s latest meeting, published on Thursday.

The central bank cut rates to a record low of zero in October and held them there in December when it said rates would stay low for longer and it was ready to adopt unconventional measures if needed. “The Riksbank has ... previously demonstrated that it is fully possible to substantially expand the balance sheet,” the minutes quoted Ingves saying. During the financial crisis, the Riksbank doled out around 300 billion crowns ($37.73 billion) in fixed, low interest rate loans to banks.