1 Introduction

Every year, the Ministry of Finance submits a report to the Storting on developments in Norwegian and international financial markets. This year, parts of the report are made available in English.

Chapter 2 addresses the financial industry and the financial stability outlook in Norway. The chapter discusses, inter alia, the macroeconomic situation, financial market conditions, risk developments for financial institutions, as well as the solvency and earnings of such institutions. It also includes an analysis of the competition situation in the Norwegian banking market.

Chapter 3 provides an overview of certain key financial market regulation initiatives.

Chapter 4 addresses the main aspects of the regulatory amendments implemented in Norway, as well as the most important financial market licensing cases dealt with by the Ministry of Finance and Finanstilsynet (the Norwegian financial supervisory authority) in 2013.