Concentrated exposure to domestic real estate is a key risk factor and a negative driver of Swedish bank ratings, Scope Ratings said yesterday (Thursday), warning that the Swedish property market is overvalued by 20%-30%.

The Swedish Bankers’ Association is lowering guidance on the LTV threshold above which new mortgages need to be amortised from 75% to 70%, while Riksbank governor Stefan Ingves said there is a case for increasing the mortgage risk weight floor to 25%.

The International Monetary Fund has voiced its support for regulatory initiatives underway in Norway such as plans for higher risk weights for mortgages and closer scrutiny of covered bond issuance. Meanwhile, the Riksbank said Sweden’s banks need to be more resilient in the long run.

Swedbank and Sveriges Riksbank came out as winners in The Covered Bond Report’s inaugural Awards for Excellence, which were announced on Tuesday, while Stadshypotek was highly commended.

Jonny Sylvén, senior advisor, Association of Swedish Covered Bond issuers (ASCB), spoke to Nordic Financial Institutions & Covered about latest Swedish regulatory developments, asset encumbrance, and labelling.

A joint council of Sweden’s Riksbank and Finansinspektionen has called for issuers to take the lead in releasing information relating to asset encumbrance after noting the potential risks of high levels of encumbrance, although they also highlighted the relative stability of covered bond funding.