Sweden sadly forgot risk-taking was the oxygen of its development.

Sir, Martin Sandbu, when discussing Scandinavian countries, the Nordic mixed model begins with: “Ten years ago, the global crisis laid bare the failures of financial capitalism.” “Nordic lessons for today’s socialists” August 29

That most still believe the crisis “laid bare the failures of financial capitalism”, is just the result of what seems to be one of the greatest cover up stories in mankind, promoted by those who want the regulatory mistake of the risk weighted capital requirements for banks to remain forever as something that shall not be named.

And it has absolutely to do with the subject discussed here because, one of the reason little Sweden, the Nordic country I best know, became such huge success, was the willingness of many Swedes to take extraordinary risks. In the Swedish Church psalm book we find a psalm that begs, “God make us daring”.

I find it outright shameful that a Swede, Stefan Ingves, could chair the Basel Committee and not enlighten his colleagues on risk-taking being the oxygen of development.

Of course, to top it up, that the risk weights are foolishly based on the risk of assets per se, and not on the risks of how bankers perceive and manage the assets, namely the conditional probabilities, makes it all so much worse. We will not have explosions fueled by risk-taking but much worse explosions fueled by excessive risk-aversion 

Today Swedish banks, as most of the world, are on route to build up extremely dangerous exposures to what is perceived as safe, like to sovereigns, residential mortgages or any other concocted security that manages to get hold of an AAA rating. 

Sir, today Swedes risk end up in their “safe” houses from which they have extracted all equity, and without the jobs needed to service their mortgages or to pay the utilities. Sad!

@PerKurowski