Bankinspektionen

Bankinspektionen, or the Bank Inspectorate, was the Swedish government agency responsible for the supervision of banks and other credit institutions. In the 20th century it served as the central supervisory authority for the financial sector, operating under the Ministry of Finance and reporting through the government to the Riksdag. Its tasks included licensing banks, supervising compliance with banking laws, monitoring financial stability, assessing capital adequacy and liquidity, conducting on-site inspections, and enforcing corrective actions against institutions that violated rules. The agency maintained oversight of Swedish banks and related credit institutions, coordinated with other authorities on financial regulation, and issued guidelines and supervisory decisions.

During Sweden’s financial reforms in the late 20th century, the supervision system underwent a consolidation. In the early 1990s Bankinspektionen was merged with other supervisory bodies to form Finansinspektionen (the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority), which assumed the supervision of banks, insurers, and securities firms. The reorganization aimed to strengthen independence, adopt modern prudential standards, and improve crisis management and resolution frameworks. Bankinspektionen’s work is considered a foundational step in the development of Sweden’s contemporary financial regulation and its transition toward a more integrated and EU-aligned supervisory framework.

Today the successor bodies, led by Finansinspektionen, continue to oversee Sweden’s financial markets with an emphasis on stability, integrity, and efficiency. Bankinspektionen is remembered as a key historical institution in Swedish banking regulation and as the precursor to modern financial supervision in the country.