Although banks expected a delay in implementation, the Swedish government will move forward with an EU rule that caps the number of board positions that directors at systemically important financial institutions can hold at four. The requirement goes into effect in July, lacking an extended transition period the country's largest banks aggressively lobbied for.

The governance change adheres to new EU rules included as part of its Capital Requirements Directive IV package. The rules, which also impose heightened capital standards on bank capital to satisfy requirements of the international Basel III accord.

The Swedish Bankers' Association sought a one-year reprieve from the rule. It, and other supporters of the extension, complained that a lack of guidance this far gave banks little time to prepare, especially with many boards being set in the coming weeks. The decision to act without delay, according to at least one government official, was a difficult one to make. "This is not a proposal which we have driven," Swedish Financial Markets Minister Peter Norman told the Reuters news service. "We are hesitant, but now there is a large majority of countries in Europe which think that this is good. We do not belong to them, but in the EU it is give and take and this is what the banks have to stick to."

An EU fact sheet elaborates on how CRD IV is intended to improve corporate governance with rules focused on the composition of boards and their role in risk oversight. Stating that “diversity in board composition should contribute to effective risk oversight by boards, providing for a broader range of views and opinion and therefore avoiding the phenomenon of group think,” new rules push for greater diversity in background and gender. Nomination committees are required to set targets and implement policies for reaching them.

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