The Big Interview: Goran Lind

Sweden's success in handling a severe credit crisis it experienced in the 1990s has been cited as a model for economic policy-makers faced with the current credit crunch. Goran Lind, advisor to the executive board of the Swedish central bank, the Riksbank, tells Credit what other governments could learn from Sweden's experience. Interview by Sarfraz Thind

In the early 1990s Sweden faced a severe credit crisis brought on by lax lending standards and poor credit risk management. The major contributor to the crisis was real estate lending, with almost two-thirds of losses being incurred through defaults on mortgage loans, and on commercial property loans. The parallels with the current global credit crisis are clear.

Facing a severe systemic threat, the Swedish authorities decided to take a pragmatic approach to solving the country's banking woes