Monetary policy, house prices and household indebtedness（PDF 10）

Let me begin by thanking you for the invitation to come here and speak at
Sparbanken Finn’s customer meeting. Tonight I intend to talk about something
that has been much debated in the media recently; namely the increase in house
prices and household indebtedness and its significance for monetary policy.
House price trends, combined with increased indebtedness, could for instance
cause significant problems in the future if households have not taken into
account in their calculations the fact that interest rates will rise from their present
low levels. Is this something we should take into account when making monetary
policy decisions?
To answer this question, I shall begin with a few words on how we conduct our
monetary policy and the aims of our policy. I shall then go on to describe
developments in household borrowing and house prices and the most important
driving forces behind them. I shall also mention how household wealth is
included in our forecasts and whether there is reason to pay particular attention
to developments in debts and house prices in the monetary policy stance. In
conclusion, I shall
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