UPDATE 3-Sweden takes over Carnegie after licence revoked

* State debt office takes over bank after putting up loan

* Sweden looking to sell Carnegie as whole or in parts

* Lack of controls, and funds, led to problems

(Adds details)

By Eva Odefalk

STOCKHOLM, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Sweden took over struggling investment bank Carnegie CAR.ST on Monday after a series of mishaps that drained the bank of funds and led regulators to revoke its licence.

The takeover is the state's first nationalisation of a major bank since a financial crisis in the early 1990s and marks the decline of a once-distinguished name in Swedish investment banking circles.

The national debt office will own Carnegie after it offered loans of up to 5 billion Swedish crowns ($645 million) to the firm, replacing loans that the central bank had previously provided to keep the bank liquid.

Carnegie's shares were posted as collateral for the debt office loan. "The decision has been taken in order to protect the financial stability and to preserve the value of the collateral," the debt office said in a statement.

The central bank welcomed the takeover.

"In the current climate on the financial markets, it is good that the debt office is now giving support to Carnegie and is prepared to go in as owner to safeguard financial stability," said Riksbank Deputy Governor Svante Oberg in a statement.

Sweden's financial watchdog announced on Monday it was revoking Carnegie's licenses, rebuffing the firm's efforts to stay independent. But the debt office said that following the ownership change, the licenses were returned.

The Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA) had been investigating the bank over possible shortcomings in management and controls, in part concerning credit exposure.

Erik Saers, deputy chief of the FSA, told a news conference there was little question about what to do: "The board was united in its decision to not allow the company to continue."

Saers said the debt office could now sell Carnegie as a whole or in parts. In its statement, the debt office said it did not want to remain an owner of Carnegie for an extended period.