BKN, the National Housing Credit Guarantee Board, is a national government agency under the Ministry of Finance. BKN administers government credit guarantee programmes for housing development. BKNs role is to promote housing policy and to work for effective guarantee provision for the financing of housing development by running its guarantee operations in a businesslike way within existing regulations. BKN also has a responsibility for monitoring and providing information on developments in the credit and capital markets for housing. Government credit guarantees can be provided for loans advanced by financial institutions operating in Sweden. At the end of 2006 14 credit institutions were affiliated to BKN programmes.
The government is fully responsible for BKNs debt. Guarantees issued as of 1997 have to be fully financed by income from guarantee fees. Older guarantees issued in the period 1992-1996 are financed by fees and by appropriations in the government budget.
A municipality that considers it needs help to reconstruct or reorganise its housing company can apply for support from BKN. Government support is only available if the municipality itself cannot bear the cost for the reconstruction and if other measures are not sufficient.
BKN also administers a government grant for municipal rent guarantees.
