Swedish investment bank almost rescued in last-ditch take-over.

• HQ Bank accountant KPMG reported after flaws
• HQ Bank announces involuntary liquidation

Swedish investment bank HQ Bank said Monday it was forced into involuntary liquidation after the financial supervisory authority revoked all its licences for breach of banking regulations.

Business daily Dagens Industry (DI) reported Monday that many banks and investment funds took part in last-ditch take-over talks late Sunday aimed at saving HQ Bank from liquidation.

It named investment bank Carnegie, which was taken over by Sweden's National Debt Office in late 2008 after the authorities threatened to withdraw its operating licence, as the only contender to have a ready takeover proposal.

Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority, however, stepped in to stop the deal, the newspaper reported.

Further interest “cannot be ruled out,” Carnegie spokesman Andreas Koch told Bloomberg.

HQ Bank, which manages around 60 billion kronor (6.3 billion euros, 8.1 billion dollars) from some 20,000 depositors, said efforts to find a way to keep the bank operating had failed after its licenses were revoked on Saturday.