Its diversity in funding sources may have played an important role in this speedy recovery, although the rapidity and vigor with which Swedish authorities addressed the banking sector’s problems undoubtedly was a contributing factor.
The speed with which the Swedish financial system overcame the crisis offers a stark contrast with the long-lasting problems of Japan, whose financial system is the archetype of virtually bank-only financial intermediation. The keiretsu conglomerate system, as you know, centers on a “main bank,” leaving corporations especially dependent on banks for credit.