Minutes of the Executive Board meeting of 8 May 2019
Present:
Executive Board:
Øystein Olsen, Jon Nicolaisen, Egil Matsen, Kjetil Storesletten, Karen Helene Ulltveit-Moe, Kathryn M. Baker and Steinar Juel
Alternates:
Arne Hyttnes and Kristine Landmark
Apologies:
Kristine Ryssdal
Employee representatives:
Kjersti-Gro Lindquist (items 98-101) and Mona H. Sørensen (items 98-101)
Office of the Supervisory Council:
Jan Frode Jakobsen (items 92-93, 96 and 98-99)
Management:
Ørjan Agdesteen (item 100), Ida Wolden Bache (item 91), Alexander Behringer (item 100), Katrine G. Boye (item 91), Olav Bø (items 91 og 94), Anne Berit Christiansen (item 91), Geir Arne Dahl (item 93), Trond Grande (items 96-100), Bjarne Gulbrandsen (items 91-101), Nina Hammerstad (item 96), Pål Haugerud (item 96), Jane Haugland (items 98-100), Torbjørn Hægeland (items 91-93), Sigrid Igland (item 92), Karsten Kallevig (item 96), Runar Malkenes (items 91, 93 and 98-100), Nina Larsson Midthjell (item 91), Hanne Nesteby (item 100), Ketil Johan Rakkestad (item 94), Merethe Riddervold (item 96), Marius Ryel (items 98-100), Kathrine Stang Ottesen (items 98-99), Marianne Sturød (item 91), Birger Vikøren (items 93-101), Peder Østbye (items 92-93)
There were no comments on the meeting notice and agenda.
Item 91/2019 The current monetary policy situation
Discussion documents
- Recommendation on Norges Bank's policy rate – Executive Board’s meeting of 8 May 2019
STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL memo from Monetary Policy of 7 May 2019 - The Executive Board’s assessment and information on developments since the March 2019 Monetary Policy Report
STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL memo from Monetary Policy of 7 May - Report from the meeting between Norges Bank and the Ministry of Finance of 18 March 2019
Report dated 29 April 2019
d) Presentations by Monetary Policy dated 8 May2019
Ida Wolden Bache outlined the main economic developments since the previous Monetary Policy Report and the assessment of developments compared with the projections and assumptions in the March Report. The Governor outlined management’s recommendation.
Against this background, the Executive Board discussed the matter. The Executive Board’s assessment is that the outlook and balance of risks continue to imply a gradual increase in the policy rate. There is persistent uncertainty surrounding global developments. In Norway, capacity utilisation appears to be rising broadly as expected, while inflation has been slightly higher than projected. Overall, new information indicates that the outlook for the policy rate for the period ahead is little changed since the March Report.
The Executive Board decided to keep the policy rate unchanged at 1.0 percent. The Executive Board's current assessment of the outlook and balance of risks suggests that the policy rate will most likely be raised in June. The decision was unanimous.
Item 92/2019 Assessment of the framework for Threat Intelligence-based Ethical Red Teaming (TIBER-EU) for testing cyber resilience in the payment system in Norway.
Discission document
Memo from Financial Stability of 2 May 2019
Torbjørn Hægeland presented the main elements of the discussion document.
The Executive Board discussed the matter and approved an invitation to a dialogue from Norges Bank to the industry, Finanstilsynet (Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway) and other relevant authorities that will serve as the basis for an assessment on the suitability of TIBER-EU for testing cyber security in the payment system in Norway.
Item 93/2019 Draft report – Financial Infrastructure 2019
Discussion document
Memo from Financial Stability of 3 May 2019
Torbjørn Hægeland presented the main elements of the report.
The Executive Board discussed the matter and approved the draft Executive Board’s Assessment. The Central Bank Governor was authorised to finalise the report on the basis of the Executive Board’s discussions.
The report is to be published on 23 May.
Item 94/2019 Administrator of Nowa (Norwegian Overnight Weighted Average)
Discussion document
Memo from Markets and ICT of 24 April 2019
Olav Bø presented the main elements of the discussion document.
The Executive Board exchanged views and approved that Norges Bank will take over as administrator of Nowa from 1 January 2020.
Item 95/2019 Briefing on current issues in Norges Bank Central Banking Operations (NBCBO)
The Governor gave a briefing on current issues in NBCBO.
Item 96/2019 The Government Pension Fund Global – Ownership structure for unlisted real estate investments
Discussion document
Memo from NBIM of 2 May 2019
Karsten Kallevig and Nina Hammerstad presented the main elements of the discussion document and gave a detailed briefing on the overall ownership structure.
The Executive Board exchanged views and took note of the commencement of the transfer of the ownership structures from Luxembourg and the aim to wind up the operations in Luxembourg once the transfer of all the ownership structures has been completed.
Item 97/2019 Briefing on current issues in investment management
Trond Grande gave a briefing on current issues in investment management.
Item 98/2019 Minutes of the Executive Board meeting of 26 April 2019
Discussion document
Draft minutes
The Executive Board approved the minutes of its meeting of 26 April 2019.
Item 99/2019 Organisation of administrative functions in Norges Bank
Discussion document
Memo from the Governor of 3 May 2019
Minutes of the discussion meeting of 3 May 2019
The Governor presented the main elements of the discussion document.
The proposal is to establish Norges Bank Administration (NBA) by transferring the shared services that are currently organised in Norges Bank’s Central Banking Operations (Property Management, Information Management, Security and Finance) to NBA. In addition, HR and Communications are to be established as new shared services in NBA. One of the main considerations is to take advantage of synergies and economies of scale to achieve a more cost-efficient organisation of administrative functions. The change will also contribute to strengthening a shared culture and values across the operational areas. At the same time, it is important that the organisation of administrative functions facilitates effective performance within each of the two areas.
The Governor announced that a more detailed review of the division of duties in security and finance is also needed. The aim is to implement the new organisation from 1 January 2020.
The Executive Board approved the proposal for a new organisation of administrative functions. The Governor was authorised to implement the new organisation and will keep the Executive Board informed of progress made.
Item 100/2019 Briefing on negotiations with Finanstilsynet (Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway) and the upgrading requirements at Bankplassen 2
Discussion document
Memo from Corporate and Shared Services of 3 May 2019
Jane Haugland presented the main elements of the discussion document.
The Executive Board took note of the briefing on the status of the negotiations with the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway and the upgrading requirements at Bankplassen 2.
Item 101/2019 Any other business
There was no other business.
The following were distributed for information together with the discussion documents:
- Changes to the mandate for the Government Pension Fund Global
Letter of 23 April 2019 from the Ministry of Finance - GPFG – Reports and presentations from the meeting with the Ministry of Finance
Memo from NBIM of 6 May 2019 - GPFG – Real Estate Investments Report 2018
- Minutes of the Remuneration Committee meeting of 5 February 2019
- Report from the Audit Committee meeting of 24 April 2019