The coronavirus outbreak has had a major negative impact on the Norwegian and international economies and caused significant fluctuations in the financial markets. This may affect the financial system in various ways. Finanstilsynet is therefore keeping a close watch on market developments and changes in the risk picture of financial institutions and in the financial infrastructure.
Over the last few years, Norwegian banks have built up capital and liquidity buffers that make them well positioned to handle market turmoil and credit losses resulting from the crisis, and insurance and pension undertakings have built up reserves to withstand significant capital losses and an increase in insurance obligations. Institutions that play a key role in the financial infrastructure are in a state of preparedness to maintain basic operations in the financial system if the number of key persons at work is reduced due to illness or measures to limit the spread of the virus.
Finanstilsynet maintains regular contact with entities that play a key role in the Norwegian financial market, and extraordinary reporting from these entities has been introduced. Finanstilsynet is also involved in follow-up measures under the auspices of the European financial supervisory authorities.
The Financial Infrastructure Crisis Preparedness Committee (BFI) is mandated to coordinate measures to prevent and resolve situations that may result in major disruptions to the financial infrastructure. Affected authorities and entities that maintain important functions in the financial infrastructure are members of the BFI, which is chaired by Finanstilsynet. There are frequent meetings in the BFI to monitor the risk situation and, if necessary, coordinate new preparedness measures.
