Icesave dispute resurrected in court. EFTA to take Iceland to court over Icesave. ESA, the EFTA (European Free Trade Association) surveillance authority, has decided to take the Icelandic state to the EFTA court over its handling of the Icesave case. By discriminating against foreign depositors and not reimbursing the British and Dutch governments within one year, it is claimed Iceland broke European law. Despite an exchange of explanatory letters between Iceland and ESA and the fact that the bankruptcy estate of Landsbanki has now started paying the British and Dutch back, the organisation’s opinion has remained firm and the long-awaited prospect of court surprised few in Iceland. The original statement from ESA can be read here. ESA is responsible for making sure EFTA members Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway follow the rules of the European Economic Area (which is the EU plus the above three countries). Switzerland is also a member of the EFTA, but chose to remain outside the EEA.
Icesave: Iceland to be taken to Court for failing to pay minimum compensation | Internal Market | Press releases | Press & Publications | EFTA Surveillance Authority. The EFTA Surveillance Authority has today decided to take Iceland to the EFTA Court over its breach of the Deposit Guarantee Directive[1]. According to the Directive, Iceland was obliged to ensure payment of a minimum compensation of EUR 20.000 per depositor after Landsbanki and its Dutch and British branches, called Icesave, collapsed in October 2008. More than three years after the bankruptcy of the bank, Iceland has still not complied with its obligation. The Deposit Guarantee Directive seeks to enhance consumer/depositor confidence in the banking system in the event of banks going bankrupt. The banking system depends on trust and consumer confidence and the Directive is a key instrument in that respect. In May 2010, the Authority issued a letter of formal notice to Iceland, giving the Government the possibility to justify its position.
Iceland has now replied to that reasoned opinion, but remains in breach. “The Authority's position is unchanged. Www.eftasurv.int/media/press-releases/Icesave-Q_&_A_in_English.pdf. Iceland Neglected U.K., Dutch Icesave Clients, Watchdog Says. Iceland violated European Union law by failing to take measures to ensure U.K. and Dutch depositors were compensated for their losses from the collapse of Landsbanki Islands hf, regulators told a court today. Iceland has a duty under EU law to guarantee a minimum compensation within a time limit and how this is achieved is up to the government, the European Free Trade Association’s court was told today.
Neither a “force majeure,” nor financial considerations could justify Iceland’s failure to ensure adequate compensation, the EFTA Surveillance Authority told the Luxembourg-based court. “Iceland seemed to have discharged its duty to supervise the deposit guarantee scheme by actually doing nothing at all,” said Xavier Lewis, lawyer for the authority. The purpose of EU law “is to prevent a run on banks. The consequence of Iceland’s argument is the greater the risk of a run on banks, the lesser the protection provided.” EU Law Priority Claims. Iceland, Icesave (yet again) and the EU deposit guarantee schemes at Sigrún Davíðsdóttir's Icelog. Yesterday, the oral hearing in the action (Case E-16/11) brought by the EFTA Surveillance Authority, ESA, was held at the EFTA Court. ESA is requesting the EFTA Court to declare that Iceland was in breach of the EU directive on deposit-guarantee schemes (Directive 94/19/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 1994 on deposit-guarantee schemes) since it didn’t pay the Icesave (set up as a branch of Landsbanki) deposit holders in the UK and the Netherlands – and secondly, ‘that Iceland has breached the prohibition on discrimination on grounds of nationality under Article 4 EEA.’
What the Directive stipulates is that a EU/EEA state has to set up a DGS – and that’s what Iceland did: it did set up an insurance guarantee fund, TIF and thus fulfilled the Directive on exactly this point – but when needed the scheme was underfunded. Consequently, Iceland asked the Dutch to pay out the Dutch ‘Icesavers’ and indicated to the Brits if they could do the same. 1. 3. 4. 5. 7. 8. On thin ice. Introduction RebelEconomist apologises, if anyone cares, for his lack of posts recently, which has been mainly due to computer breakdowns that made posting cumbersome. Fortunately, his new laptop has arrived in time for him to post about a financial issue that will hit the headlines again in the next few days, and on which most media coverage so far has been, in RebelEconomist's opinion as a former central banker who knows a little about the regulatory principles involved, misleading.
That issue is the dispute over to what extent, and on what terms, Iceland should reimburse the British and Dutch governments for deposit insurance payments they made to depositors in the British and Dutch Icesave branches of the Icelandic bank Landsbanki after its collapse in October 2008. How European deposit protection schemes work What is the nature of the British claim? Note, however, that the size of Britain's claim does depend on the value of DIGF guarantee. La leçon de capitalisme de l'Islande. Devenue célèbre pour avoir dit non par deux fois à un référendum sur le remboursement de sa dette vis à vis du Royaume-Uni et des Pays-Bas, l’Islande est devenu l’élève modèle des Indignés et de certains économistes: dire "non" au capitalisme financier, voilà la voie à suivre pour la Grèce, piégée par une dette faramineuse.
Mais les deux pays sont dans des situations incomparables. Différence majeure avec la Grèce, la dette de l’Islande n’est pas lié à une mauvaise gestions des comptes publics, mais à ses banques. Avant 2008, les établissements islandais pratiquaient le 'carry trade', une technique de spéculation qui consiste à emprunter de l’argent dans une devise peu chère (tel que le dollar ou le yen) pour effectuer des placements dans une devise offrant des taux d’intérêts plus élevés, en l'occurrence la couronne islandaise. 50 milliards partis en fumée Reculer pour mieux faire sauter la banque Les Islandais disent deux fois "non" L’Islande paiera quand même Il est bien mal informé.
L'Islande annonce le remboursement imminent des clients européend e la banque en ligne Icesave. C'est un véritable feuilleton qui pourrait se terminer avec les dernières informations provenant de Reykjavik. Après la validation par la Cour suprême des mesures d'urgences prises en 2008 par le gouvernement islandais, c'est la dernière barrière au remboursement des 340.000 clients européens de la banque en ligne Icesave qui vient de se lever. "Grâce à cette décision, il est clair que tous les déposants, quelque soit leur nationalité, leur lieu de résidence, la nature ou le montant de leur épargne, tous recupèreront en intégralité leur argent", a déclaré le ministre des finances islandais, Arni Pall Arnason, ajoutant que les remboursements devraient débuter dans les semaines prochaines".
L'affaire Icesave Avant sa faillite en 2008, la banque en ligne Icesave opérait principalement en Europe via ses branches britanniques et néerlandaises. Mais, emportée en 2008 par la crise des "subprimes", celle-ci dut cesser ses activités en octobre 2008. Pressions sur le gouvernement islandais. Iceland Says $11.4B Payout Ends Spat With U.K. Iceland declared a three-year dispute with the U.K. and the Netherlands to be history after it promised to pay out $11.4 billion from the estate of failed Landsbanki Islands hf to cover all foreign depositor losses. The most recent valuation of Landsbanki’s assets shows the lender, which failed in October 2008 together with the rest of Iceland’s financial system, will have enough funds to pay back more than double the $5.3 billion backed by depositor guarantees, according to a report published by the bank’s resolution committee yesterday.
The so-called Icesave dispute, named after the high- yielding Internet accounts Landsbanki offered abroad, had soured Iceland’s relations with the U.K. and the Netherlands after the bank’s collapse left about 350,000 foreign depositors in the lurch. Since then, the island has pulled off an economic resurrection that has pushed the cost of insuring against an Iceland default below the average for the European Union. Court Battle Default Insurance. Iceland Passes Last Hurdle in $11.4 Billion Depositor Payout. Iceland will start paying out as much as $11.4 billion in foreign depositor claims after the country’s top court upheld an emergency law that leaves bank bondholders in the lurch and protects ordinary account holders. The decision by Iceland’s Supreme Court to rule in favor of a crisis bill enacted three years ago “marks the endpoint” to a dispute with the U.K. and the Netherlands triggered by the island’s 2008 financial collapse, Economy Minister Arni Pall Arnason said.
The ruling will help repair relations with the two countries, whose depositors risked losing their savings when Iceland’s second-biggest bank collapsed, he said. “It’s clear from these rulings that all depositors, regardless of nationality, residency, nature or amount of their deposit, will get their money back in full,” Arnason said in an interview in Reykjavik. Repayment may start within weeks, he said. Full Amount The British Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which compensated U.K. ‘Substantial Claims’ Ready Cash. Transcript of conversation between Chancellor and Icelandic Finance Minister - Times Online. Faillite de Icesave : qui paiera pour le non des Islandais ? Les Islandais sont salués pour leur courage de contester l'accord entre leur gouvernement et le Royaume-Uni et les Pays-Bas. Mais cela signifie-t-il qu'ils ne paieront pas ? Le 9 avril dernier, les Islandais ont rejeté à 59% l’accord prévoyant le remboursement des gouvernements britannique et néerlandais dans le cadre de la faillite de la banque en ligne Icesave.
De nombreuses voix se sont félicitées du refus des Islandais de payer pour les erreurs des banquiers. Certains allant même jusqu’à qualifier la victoire du “non” au référendum de “rébellion contre la finance internationale” ou de “victoire contre les banksters”. La garantie des dépôts, éternel talon d’Achille du système bancaire Dans la plupart des pays la protection des déposants n’est que purement théorique. Le recours de cet affaire devant une cour de justice devrait donc permettre d’y voir plus clair sur la signification exacte des traités. L’affaire Icesave L’histoire d’Icesave débute en 2006. Une improvisation coupable ? Memo from Risbank's Nyberg regarding the Icesave case.
We slipped through the safety net too | Money. We want our money back too! That was the cry this week from thousands of British citizens with money tied up in the Guernsey arm of one of Iceland's collapsed banks, many of whom are desperately worried about losing the bulk of their life savings. Last Saturday, Guardian Money carried a report about the "forgotten" Brits who face losing some or all of their nest-egg cash following the collapse of Iceland's biggest bank, Kaupthing. They have their money in the bank's Isle of Man arm, and are anxiously waiting to see how much of it they are going to get back. Our report prompted people with money in the Guernsey subsidiary of another fallen Icelandic bank, Landsbanki, to contact us to say that they too had been left high and dry, despite the British government's pledge that no UK saver would lose money as a result of Iceland's financial meltdown.
They include Daniel Herzberg, a London-born teacher now living in Spain with his wife Lucy Kinnison and young son Oliver. Que se passe-t-il quand votre banque fait faillite ? « Nous ne procédons actuellement à aucune opération de dépôt ou de retrait. Veuillez nous excuser de la gêne occasionnée. » C’est le message qu’aucun d’entre nous ne souhaite voir un jour s’afficher sur la page Internet de sa banque. Pourtant, c’est la mésaventure qu’ont connue, au plus fort de la crise, des milliers de citoyens de l’Union européenne (UE), clients d’Icesave, la branche européenne de la première banque privée islandaise. Sommes-nous à l’abri d’un tel incident en France ? De la dette privée transformée en dette publique A partir de 2006, une nouvelle banque en ligne a fait son apparition en Europe, d’abord au Royaume-Uni, puis aux Pays-Bas deux ans plus tard. Dans les jours qui ont suivi, le gouvernement islandais a annoncé que les disponibilités bancaires de ses ressortissants seraient couvertes par le fonds de garantie des dépôts du pays.
Un cadre juridique peu préparé à la crise Depuis 2008, la protection des déposants des banques européennes n’a pas beaucoup évolué. Iceland to send response to EFTA Icesave reprimand. A letter of response from the Icelandic state to the European Free Trade Association surveillance authority (ESA) about the Icesave dispute will be sent immediately after the weekend. The letter is in its final editing stages at the Icelandic Ministry of Economic Affairs, RUV reports. After the nation rejected the latest Icesave repayment deal with the British and Dutch in a referendum on 9th April, the Icesave issue has once again become a hot topic at the EFTA.
It is likely that the ongoing dispute will be taken to the EFTA court. The ESA sent the Icelandic authorities a caution letter over the Icesave issue; as the organisation is of the opinion that Iceland is responsible for the debt. The difference of opinion between Iceland and the EFTA was put on ice during Iceland’s trilateral negotiations with the Netherlands and the UK — and also during the referendum.
Sample Leak » StateLogs | Wikileaks diplomatic cables, by OWNI. Icesave: The full story of the Icelandic bank's rise and fall | Money. In October 2006, Viking raiders returned to these shores in the form of Icelandic bank Landsbanki, which quickly set about pillaging UK banks' customers with its aggressive savings rates. Landsbanki's internet-only offering Icesave attracted huge numbers of savers to its best buy cash Isas, easy access savings accounts and fixed-rate bonds.
In November 2006, Landsbanki launched a further raid on the Channel Islands, taking over offshore bank Cheshire Guernsey, previously run by the Cheshire building society. Anybody who wondered whether it was safe depositing their life savings with a foreign-owned bank was reminded that it was authorised to operate in the UK, regulated by the Financial Services Authority, had signed up to the Banking Code and belonged to both Iceland's depositor protection scheme and the UK's Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).
It was also Iceland's oldest and second-largest bank, after Kaupthing Bank. Related information Q&A: Savings compensation scheme. Iceland president triggers referendum on Icesave repayments | Business. It is the second time Iceland's president has votoed an Icesave repayment bill. Photograph: Evan Vucci/AP Iceland's president has refused to sign into law a bill outlining plans to repay £3.1bn to Britain and the Netherlands for debts incurred during the financial crisis, triggering a referendum on the issue. The move is expected to dismay the UK government, which had negotiated a revised £2.3bn to cover the cost of providing retail guarantees to UK savers with deposits in Icesave after an earlier deal was blocked. Britain and the Netherlands bailed out savers who lost money in online Icesave accounts run by Landsbanki, which collapsed in late 2008.
More than 22,000 Icelanders have already signed an online petition objecting to the new legislation. It is the second time Iceland's president, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, has vetoed an Icesave repayment bill and the referendum will be the second on the issue after last year's plebiscite ended in 93% voting to reject the unpopular law. Islande : 2e référendum sur le remboursement de la Grande-Bretagne et des Pays Bas. Référendum sur la loi sur l'accord Icesave 9 avril 2011. The Icesave referendum has been oversimplified | Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir. Iceland's no vote on Icesave was a public display of anger | Peter Geoghegan. Islande vs Banksters 2 à 0 Ehlafojtankül dans ta face, banquier !
With Its Economy On The Mend, Iceland Stuffs Bankers For Second Time | zero hedge. Les Islandais rejettent une nouvelle fois la loi sur l'accord Icesave. Les Islandais se rebellent contre la haute finance internationale | Rue89. Islande : NON et encore NON ! Icesave repayment to UK investors splits Iceland voters | Business. Référendum sur la nouvelle loi sur l'accord Icesave en Islande Le point une semaine avant le scrutin. Affaire Icesave - Le gouvernement islandais échappe à la censure. UK, Netherlands taxpayers will still get Icesave cash back after Iceland no vote. The Icesave Paradox: How can Iceland be against the current ... - bjarnimax.blog.is. Icesave dispute. On the status of the Icesave debacle. Comment / Opinion - The Icesave deal is unfair and unreasonable.
Icesave: Iceland obliged to ensure payment of the minimum compensation to British and Dutch depositors | Internal Market | Press releases | Press & Publications | EFTA Surveillance Authority. Affaire "Icesave": la fronde des islandais contre l'immoralité des directives européennes. Les Islandais votent contre le remboursement des dettes. Angry Iceland defies the world.