Troubled political and economic institutions have to be rebuilt in "a truly democratic environment", Swedbank pointed out Friday.

Man-made political and economic institutions underlie a nation’s economic success, Swedbank said in its To The Point report Friday. After the financial crisis and recession, many of these institutions need to be rebuilt in the US and Europe, and it is important this be done in a truly democratic environment.

Financial markets have pressured Europeans to speed up budget consolidation, and the US cannot rule out the same treatment in a few years time, the bank said. Politicians need to set the deleveraging agenda before the financial markets do, with potentially high costs to the US and the global economy and societies.