The real Swedish robbers' list of items to be brought into the bank is a classic part of Swedish crime history. The list included: "Boxes of Prince cigarettes!", "WHISKEY!!" (almost etched into the paper & underlined twice), "calming pills.. for the ladies if they get nervous!", a T.V. with an oddly specific sized screen, and specific amounts of toilet paper and vegetables and so on.
The actual event depicted in the film is what gave a name to the psychological phenomenon known as Stockholm Syndrome, where hostages develop a psychological alliance with (sometimes also referred to as sympathy or sympathetic feelings for) their captors as a survival strategy.
Where the bank building was is now a clothing store.
All names, except that of the Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme, who was assassinated in an unrelated 1986 crime, have been changed for this movie due to many of the actual persons depicted in the film still being alive while the screenplay was being written.
The "Kreditbanken" changed name several times and merged later with Nordea bank. The bank exterior shown in the film does not exist in Stockholm. The film was shot at an undisclosed location in the US.