One of Norges Bank’s main responsibilities is to foster robust and efficient payment systems and financial markets. The preventive tasks in this area are: contributing to containing risk in clearing and settlement systems; monitoring the financial services industry in order to identify trends which may weaken the stability of the financial sector and lead to systemic problems; assessing the influence of monetary policy and general economic policy on the stability of the financial sector and vice versa. Norges Bank’s Financial Stability report is published twice a year, and is a key component of the monitoring of the financial services industry. The report contains an evaluation of trends in the financial services industry, with particular emphasis on banks, and an analysis of how well equipped the industry is to cope with any major disturbances in the economy or changes in participants’ expectations. One of the purposes of the report is to contribute to a dialogue with the financial services industry on factors that may create imbalances in the financial system. Norges Bank has produced reports on financial stability since 1995. From 1997 to 1999 edited versions of these analyses were published in Economic Bulletin. Since 2000, the report has been published separately.