Levelling out of Swedish property prices may not be a bad thing

Copenhagen

FOR years, economists and even Nobel laureates have been warning that Sweden is heading for a housing bubble. But the man running Sweden's biggest mortgage bank said that prices are now levelling out at a pace that may prove beneficial to his industry's capital requirements.

Michael Wolf, the chief executive officer of Swedbank, said that the development will help Sweden's biggest provider of home loans manage regulatory requirements and continue a generous policy of paying 75 per cent of profits in dividends.