Styrräntor och kapitalanskaffning : En studie av bankernas utlåning till företag i Sverige

Sammanfattning

This study examines how changes in the policy interest rate have affected banks' lending to companies in Sweden during the period 2018-2024. The study is based on the major economic changes that have taken place in recent years. During this period, Sweden moved from a long phase of very low interest rates to rapid interest rate increases in connection with high inflation. The Covid-19-pandemic and increased geopolitical uncertainty also characterized the period. The study is based on a quantitative approach where secondary data from the Swedish Riksbank and Statistics Sweden (SCB), among others, have been analyzed. To examine this relationship, diagrams, descriptive statistics and regression analysis were used. The results of the study indicate that there is a negative relationship between the policy interest rate and corporate credit growth. During 2022-2023, the policy rate increased, while the growth of corporate lending declined. The regression analysis also shows that the relationship is statistically significant, indicating that changes in interest rates coincided with clear changes in the credit market. The results can be explained by the fact that higher interest rates lead to increased borrowing costs, while banks become more cautious in their lending during periods of economic uncertainty. At the same time, the study shows that the credit market is influenced by several factors beyond the policy interest rate, such as inflation, economic conditions and banks’ risk assessments. Therefore, the results should be interpreted with some caution. Despite this, the study contributes to a greater understanding of how monetary policy affects companies’ opportunities to finance their operations through bank lending in Sweden.