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assets under anti-terror laws, bust. He maybe long gone, but the -
- he may be long gone, but the to be repaid the money he gave
The Treasury is still £2.2 billion out of pocket, but a ruling today
Are your savings not safe in a foreign bank?
Before the financial crisis Iceland was best known here for its geezer,
glaciers and Miss World victories. Then Iceland's banks went bust,
taking the country down with it in 2008. The collapse affected 230,000
UK deposors, whose savings in savings of £2.2 billion had to be
repaid bit Treasury here, which promptly demanded the money back
from Reykjavik, roughly half of that sum has been repaid already.
Today's European Free Trade Association court ruling, doesn't
affect the dozens of British local authorities, which also parked
almost £1 billion of council tax payers' money with Iceland savings
accounts. It means the Icelandic Government wasn't obliged to recur
the debts of privately-owned banks. Bjork k excited about it in a tweet.
The implications could be very important for Iceland, Britain and
the rest of the EU. This is good news for everybody involved. For
Iceland it has been under considerable uncertainty because of
it, now it is lifted it can get on rebuilding its economy. This is
also a blessing in disguise for the have been obliged to provide
Government gauorns for bank deposits d guarantees, for bank
times. The then Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, oped a diplomatic
wound between London and Reykjavik, when he evoked anti-terror laws to
seize all Icelandic financial assets. What happened in Iceland is
completely unacceptable. I have been in touch with the Icelandic
Prime Minister, I I have said this is illegal action they have taken,
we are freezing the asset of Icelandic companies in the UK where
against the Icelandic authorities, wherever that is necessary to
recover the money. Being lumped in people twice rejected a plan to
repay Britain in separate referenda. Four years on and the new UK
Government is quite sanguine with today's ruling, which can't be
repealed, that is because it has received most of the money back
from the bank that used to cone i sap sld save, the message is
regulators and legislators weren't doing their job up to the 2008
financial crisis but they are now. Five years on and quite a few barn
doors have been bolted with regards to financial regulation. Deposited
law, but savers will think twice before putting large sums in
Icelandic banks. Good evening minister. You still
this morning, of course we welcome it in Iceland, because it takes a
lot of legal uncertainties and puts it aside. It is also very important
to state that the estate of the failed bank will continue to pay
out priority claims to the depositors and creditors. As they
lot of the money has already been paid off? They have been doing that.
But it is £2.2 billion left? There are about 50% of the priority
claims already paid out. The estate will continue to pay priority
claims. It is estimated that the priority claims can't be and will
be repaid in full. That is the good news for everybody. I know that the
Icelandic people felt very put upon by Gordon Brown when he evoked
these anti-terror law, was the British Government wrong to give
money back to British depositors in Icelandic banks without knowing if
it would get the money back? Like I said, the estate is, it is
able to pay back -- the estate will priority claims. How long do you
been able to pay out, or the estate has already paid out about 50%, so,
estimating that this can happen quite rapidly in the near future.
But this is possible because the Icelandic parliament implemented,
in October of 2008, an emergency this can happen now, and that's why
we are able to do this. Do you think that foreign investors should
deposit money in small countries? When this all happened the banks
were nine-times the size of just back off the economies of
small countries when they come to make deposits? Well, I think that
this a sad history, a sad story, very heavy and important learning
process for all of us. And all the regulatory framework that the
Icelandic Government has been implementing in the past four years
has all had the aim of and the goal that this could not happen again.
That is very, very important. I think that we were, our regulatory
framework was not strong enough, and this is something that we have
learned and we have changed. A lot of what you have done to stablise
bondholders sink and so forth, you could never have done, had you been
within the EU, and yet I understand EU? Well, we have a very, you could
say we have a very different situation than many other European
countries. We are a very small nation, with our other currency. We
are only 230,000 people. It is very difficult to manage the kuorn --
320,000 people. It was difficult to manage the currency once the bank
fell. We needed capital controls, otherwise things would have gotten
a lot, lot worse here in Iceland. I think that we have, the capital
controls, and the reasons why they a lot of understanding on that
situation. But it is our aim, and the past four years, in
strengthening our economy so that we can start lifting the capital
years. Hopefully we will not have capital controls for very long.
we are going to get the money back, but can we trust you? Like I said,
been paying out to priority claims, and the estate of the failed bank
will continue to do so. Even though this ruling was like it was this
morning. But I think the main and the best thing about the ruling
this morning is that now this uncertainty is out of the way, and
we can move on and leave this sad Thank you very much for joining us
tonight.