This paper analyzes how financial elites (financial bureaucracy, politicians, and financial sector executives) in Denmark and Sweden responded to the problems emerged after 2008. These elites faced with an acute dilemma: On the one hand, they had to act quickly to provide confidence and liquidity to their domestic financial systems. This required immediate action and nation state-level regulation that directly deal with the domestic problems. On the other hand, very much aware of the international operations of their national banks and their dependence on short-term foreign lending, the same elites have been actively taking part at the EU and international level for better regulation and supervision. Based on interviews with financial elites in Denmark and Sweden, this paper intends to understand how financial elites in these two countries pursue the so-called "dual strategy" and how they can overcome possible trade-offs. As such, this paper directly speaks to the most fundamental question of the workshop, and arguing that national elites adopt a pragmatist approach when to stick to the national regulation/supervision or when to transfer authority to the EU or international level.
