The Norwegian government decided to maintain the countercyclical capital buffer imposed on the country’s banks at 2% on March 15. Norway’s central bank advised the finance ministry to leave the buffer unchanged because of high levels of household debt.

“Financial imbalances have built up, owing to a persistent rise in household debt ratios and high property price inflation over a long period,” says Norges Bank in a statement. The central bank says that a correction to housing prices has