New legislation enables BIS innovation hub centre in Sweden
News BIS, Bank for International Settlements, decided in June to establish an innovation hub centre in Stockholm. Today, the Riksdag has taken a decision that enables an establishment by amending the Sveriges Riksbank Act, so that it is possible for the Riksbank to finance the activities of international bodies if such activities are related to those of the Riksbank.
On 30 June 2020, BIS announced that it intended to establish an Innovation Hub Nordic Centre in Stockholm. To enable the hub centre to be established, the Riksdag was required to take a decision to amend the Sveriges Riksbank Act, to make it possible for the Riksbank to finance the activities of international bodies.
In addition to Stockholm, BIS also intends to establish hub centres in Toronto (Bank of Canada), Paris and Frankfurt (ECB), and London (Bank of England). Furthermore, Federal Reserve Bank of New York will enter into a strategic partnership with BIS Innovation Hub.
BIS is expected to take a decision this year on which specific issues the various hubs will work on and when they will be established. The hub centres will be established in different phases but all of them are expected to be up and running by March 2022.
In 2019, BIS began establishing innovation hub centres in various parts of the world. These have the task of promoting international cooperation and research on innovative financial technology that is relevant to central banks. In March 2020, the Riksbank, in cooperation with the central banks in Denmark, Iceland and Norway, submitted the Nordic candidature, in which Sweden was proposed as the host for an innovation hub centre. A Nordic innovation hub centre located in Stockholm will enable Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden to stay at the cutting edge of research into digital solutions and analysis of financial technology innovations.