Sweden's Riksbank published a consultation response supporting the proposal to collect microdata on household debt and debt service payments for Statistics Sweden’s microsimulation model Fasit, arguing it would improve the basis for economic policy decisions. It warns, however, that the proposal has a material gap because it does not give the Riksbank access to Fasit or a clear legal basis to analyse the data, and it stresses that data on household assets are also needed for an adequate knowledge base. The data made available for analysis via Fasit would be de-identified and confidential, but the Riksbank is not currently among the authorities permitted to access the system under the Fasit Act. To address this, the Riksbank proposes three legislative amendments: granting it access to Fasit to process the new debt variables, adapting the Fasit Act’s purpose provisions to cover the Riksbank’s monetary policy and financial stability analysis needs, and extending statistical confidentiality provisions to cover evaluation and analysis at the Riksbank. It also argues that retaining debt data only for the MSTAR sample (around 31,000 sample persons, expanding to 92,000 individuals and 42,000 family households) limits analytical reliability and calls for extending the retained sample to the larger STAR sample (around 750,000 sample persons, expanding to about 2.1 million individuals and 960,000 family households), including to enable panel analysis over time. The Riksbank urges that these changes be made in the legislative process for the current proposal, and it links them to the need to implement a previously consulted change to extend statistical confidentiality so microdata can be shared for the Riksbank’s policy analysis activities.
Riksbank 2026-01-22
Sweden's Riksbank backs household debt data collection but calls for legal access to Statistics Sweden’s Fasit microdata and broader asset coverage
Sweden's Riksbank supports collecting microdata on household debt for Statistics Sweden’s Fasit model but highlights a gap as it lacks access to Fasit and a legal basis to analyze the data. The Riksbank proposes legislative amendments to gain access, adapt Fasit Act provisions for its policy needs, and extend statistical confidentiality. It also recommends expanding the data sample for improved analytical reliability.