Bad Loans to Baltics Drag Down Sweden

Sweden's famed bank takeovers in the early 1990s have received lots of publicity, but now two of its big banks -- SwedBank and SEB -- are dragging down the economy because of bad loans to Baltic nations.  The kronor is likely to weak, loans will tighten, and unemployment will probably surpass the forecasted 11.3%.  
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/jun2009/balt-j15.shtml

The "Swedish Dream" may be over.  Like other nations, Sweden faces the daunting task of rebuilding its banking system and economy, while cutting social, health and educational programs.  But that only reduces deficits.  To rebuild its finances, Sweden needs to increase revenues by expanding exports of its small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which are weak in global marketing.  For export-shy SMEs, that will be no easy task indeed.