The Swedish currency hit a six-week low level after speculations rose that Latvia will devalue its currency, as an attempt to save the country from a deep recession, consequently affecting negatively loans held by Swedish banks in the Baltic Nation.
According to a note posted this week by Riksbank, an economic deterioration in the Baltic countries is an imminent risk to Swedish banking institutions, since Latvia’s financial system is highly linked and dependent on the Scandinavian nation’s funding. Mareks Seglins, the Latvian Justice Minister affirmed that the country’s currency should end the system that maintains it pegged to the euro, and this declaration impacted directly the Swedish krona, causing it to fall more than 4 percent against the euro since June 1. Since Latvia’s independence, Sweden is the main fund provider in the private loan market for the Baltic nations.
The risk of devaluation for the Latvian lat is considered high, according to analysts, even if they expect that a cooperation between the Eurozone and Sweden to maintain the lat pegged to the euro, the pressure is significant and rising. ING Groep NV affirmed that there is a 50 percent chance that the Latvian currency will be devalued during the next 12 months, which could ease the ongoing recession in Latvia, but cause an important impact on the Swedish banking sector and its currency.
USD/SEK traded at 7.6256 from a previous rate of 7.7160. EUR/SEK also fell from 10.9060 to 10.8500.
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