March 31, 2026: Iran Explosions, Swedish Mortgage Rates, and Tax Refunds

In today's bulletin, we discuss major explosions in Isfahan, Iran, and the ongoing conflict in the region as the situation reaches the halfway mark, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Back home, major Swedish banks like SBAB and SEB are facing severe criticism for raising floating mortgage rates despite the Riksbank holding its policy rate steady, a move strongly condemned by Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson. Finally, we remind listeners that today is the final day to digitally approve your Swedish tax return without making changes if you want to receive an early payout in April.Keywords:• bolåneräntor: [boo-law-neh-ren-tor] mortgage rates. These were raised by Swedish banks despite steady policy rates.• skatteåterbäring: [skat-teh-oh-ter-beh-ring] tax refund. The money returned to taxpayers, requiring fast action to receive the payout early.• styrränta: [steer-ren-ta] policy rate. The base interest rate set by the central bank, which remained unchanged.Download the full episode transcript as a PDF here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lTssrg1BpVJYfI3gRdGwvzGYjmgDHxKx/view?usp=sharing