InDefence

After Iceland's Referendum, What Next?

So the negotiations have broken down, British and Dutch "bullying" (FT 27 February, 2010) continues and the referendum goes ahead. What next? We emphasize that this is not a sovereign debt crisis, even if the British and Dutch want us to think it i. Now is the time to spread more understanding of the issues - the shared responsibility, the flawed and excessive nature of UK and Dutch government demands, their impact on ordinary Icelandic citizens, and the positive ideas and proposals that emerge as a result of a democratic debate in Iceland. ...

Iceland faces softer repayment terms

Alistair Darling has cleared the way to soften Iceland’s repayment terms for the £3.4bn lost in the failed Icesave online bank, amid fears that the original deal would be resoundingly defeated in a referendum. The chancellor is insisting that British taxpayers “must get their money back” but is open to ways to effectively reduce the interest payments that Iceland will be required to make. ...

Icesave: A potential solution?

Iceland’s president refused last month to sign a parliamentary bill authorising settlement of the Icesave dispute with the UK and the Netherlands. This does not mean a rejection of his country’s obligations. On the contrary, Icelanders have already agreed to compensate the UK and Netherlands. The decision by President Gri´msson stems instead from the fact that over 70 per cent of Icelanders find the terms of the current deal unreasonable...

Critics Rally To Foil Iceland's Debt Bill At Referendum

Critics of Iceland's deal to repay the U.K. and Dutch governments for compensation to depositors in a failed online bank urged Icelanders on Wednesday to reject the law at a national referendum key to the nation's future. The plea comes as Iceland heads closer to the March 6 referendum. If passed, it could saddle the country's residents with more debt; if rejected, it could complicate Iceland's international relations and prospects of receiving further aid from the International Monetary Fund and the Nordic countries. ...

Fyrer opp kampanje for å få nei til Icesave-avtalen

Skal jeg som musikklærer betale en fjerdedel av min lønn i årene som kommer til en urimelig Icesave-avtale? Spørsmålet kom fra Olafur Eliasson, en av aktivistene i den islandske grasrotbevegelsen InDefence, som onsdag ettermiddag avholdt en pressekonferanse i Reykjavik med media fra en rekke europeiske land til stede. InDefence lanserte her en intens nei-kampanje for å få islendingene til å stemme nei til Icesave-avtalen i den planlagte folkeavstemningen 6. mars....

Critics ramp up opposition to Icesave deal

LONDON - Critics of the Iceland government's agreement to repay some $5.7 billion to Britain and the Netherlands ramped up their opposition to the deal on Wednesday, kicking off a "Vote No" campaign ahead of a national referendum on the issue. The InDefence grassroots organisation, whose original petition prompted Iceland's president to veto the so-called Icesave bill and put the legislation to voters, accused the British and Dutch governments of being "engaged in economic warfare against Iceland."...

A Look at Global Economic Developments

LONDON -- Critics of the Iceland government's agreement to repay some $5.7 billion to Britain and the Netherlands ramped up their opposition to the deal, kicking off a ''Vote No'' campaign ahead of a national referendum on the issue. The InDefence grassroots organisation, whose original petition prompted Iceland's president to veto the so-called Icesave bill and put the legislation to voters, accused the British and Dutch governments of being ''engaged in economic warfare against Iceland.''...

Islande : marasme économique ou terroristes volcaniques ?

Dans ce pays ou le poisson est toujours dans la mer, l'énergie dans le sol, près des volcans et le niveau d’éducation exceptionnel…c'est désormais le chômage, la banqueroute, et une image de terroristes qui guettent la population. Fort d'une croissance de plus de 5% depuis 2004, l'Islande était en 2007 le n°1 MONDIAL selon l'IDH des Nations unies. Mais tout a basculé en 15 jours pour le 5ème pays le plus riche (PIB de 50 000$ / habitant)...le 29 septembre la nationalisation de la 3ème banque du pays (Glitnir) provoque une crise de confiance envers les banques islandaises. Alors que la Banque Centrale tente de fixer la parité entre la couronne islandaise et l'euro, le pays est au bord de la banqueroute...

Cleary Advising Iceland in Ongoing Icesave Dispute

On a day when The Am Law Daily's New York HQ faced the big (but not so) bad mid-Atlantic blizzard, we thought it fitting to share some news out of Iceland. On Tuesday the government of Iceland announced it had hired Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton to advise on a new round of negotiations with the U.K. and Netherlands over losses suffered by Iceland's banks. Donald Johnston, the founding partner of Canadian firm Heenan Blaikie and former secretary-general of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), is also advising Iceland's government....

Iceland Aims to Restart Icesave Talks

REYKJAVIK (Reuters) - Iceland hopes to lure Britain and the Netherlands back to the negotiating table next week with a new proposal on repayment of more than $5 billion (3.2 billion pounds) lost in Icelandic bank accounts, a government source said on Thursday. The Icelandic government and opposition parties are finalising a proposal in which the bulk of the amount owed to the two EU countries would be covered by a sale of the failed bank's assets, said the source who asked not to be named...

Iceland seeks to reopen talks on Icesave

Iceland is pushing to reopen negotiations with Britain and the Netherlands over €3.9bn ($5.4bn, £3.4bn) lost in the failed Icesave online bank in an attempt to avoid a destabilising referendum on the issue. The Icelandic government is close to an agreement with opposition parties on a fresh repayment plan that could be presented to the British and Dutch governments within days. Reykjavik hopes the compromise plan will bring an end to more than a year of domestic and international feuding over the debts, which have threatened to derail Iceland’s economic recovery and imperilled the coalition government....

Reykjavik hoping Icesave compromise proposal can avert defeat in referendum

Iceland is expected to reopen talks with Britain and the Netherlands next week hopeful that it has a blueprint for a compromise over how the bill for Icesave deposit guarantees should be met. If successful, it will avert the need for a referendum next month. The City minister, Lord Myners, and his Dutch counterpart, Wouter Bos, have been closely consulted by Reykjavik ahead of a formal request for new talks. The foreign secretary, David Miliband, met his Icelandic opposite number in London on Thursday to discuss the matter. ...

Icelanders Resist 'Bailout' and EU

Last year’s economic crisis hit sent many of the nations of the developed world into recession (or worse), but few countries were hit as hard, proportionally speaking, as the tiny nation of Iceland. The crisis in Iceland offered several parallels to that which ravaged the American economy; as noted previously, Skyrocketing deficit spending by federal and state governments, combined with the burgeoning ranks of the unemployed and underemployed, unbelievably high rates of bankruptcy, and allegations of a concerted effort to undermine the dominance of the American dollar in the global economy all point out troubling parallels. (To make the parallel even more complete, feel free to substitute Chinese leverage over the America’s debt — and our economy, in general — for the role played by the United Kingdom in Iceland’s crisis.)...

Debt Repayment Plan Sparks Fiery Debate In Iceland

First, an economic whirlwind hit Iceland; now, it's in the midst of a political one. Last week, the country's president refused to sign a controversial bill to repay a $5 billion debt to Britain and the Netherlands, incurred when three Icelandic banks went belly up...

Compromise Needed on Iceland

Iceland's decision to play David to the U.K. and Dutch governments' Goliath may not be as reckless as it first appears. President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson has acknowledged public opposition to a deal committing the country to repay $6 billion in loans to compensate foreign depositors in bust Internet bank Icesave, agreeing to put the issue to a referendum. ...

ICESAVE-STRIDEN: EU-lov tvinger henne ikke

EUs regler for å garantere bankinnskudd ved konkurser gir ikke den islandske staten ansvaret for å erstatte tapte bankinnskudd i Icesave. Islands statsminister Johanna Sigurdardottir og hennes regjering har gått med på å forgjelde den islandske staten tilsvarende halve Islands brutto nasjonalprodukt. ...

Iceland's president blocks £2.3bn Icesave deal to compensate the UK

celand's president has said he will block a £2.3bn deal to compensate the UK for coming to the aid of 300,000 customers of Icesave, the failed internet bank. The island's president, Olafur R. Grimsson, said on Tuesday outside his residence in Reykjavik that "the cornerstone of Iceland's constitution is the highest judge for the validity of law." ...

Angry Iceland defies the world

celand's president has blocked a Bill to pay Britain and Holland up to £3.4bn for Icesave depositors, acknowledging that popular feeling in the island nation is too strong to proceed without a referendum. The move reopens a bitter dispute and greatly complicates ...

We are just like Iceland - apart from where it matters

It's a simple question: if the people of Iceland can apparently refuse to be made pick up the tab for the incompetence and greed of their banks and people who did business with them, why do we have to? The answer is more complex. Iceland has done several things over the last 18 months ...

Angry Icelanders back President Grimsson's decision to block Icesave deal

Two-thirds of Icelanders believe their president was right to block the controversial deal forcing them to pay Britain £2.3bn plus interest in compensation for the failure of Icesave bank accounts. A majority of Icelanders support the decision by President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson to call a referendum on the agreement, according to a poll by the newspaper ...

Iceland's economic breakdown

Iceland's economy faced trouble times in the past year and is still in major recovery. Magnus Skulason explains.

Iceland president says country will pay UK government

Iceland's president has told the BBC's Newsnight programme that the country will pay its debts to the British and Dutch governments. President Olafur Grimsson said that Iceland would "honour its obligations", despite effectively vetoing new repayment laws. ...

Islandia se queda sin felicidad

Una caminata por algunos parajes de Islandia es el equivalente a un paseo lunar, y, en cambio, apenas una hora en el despacho del ministro de Finanzas islandés devuelve inmediatamente a tierra: papeles amontonados, revistas, el molesto y continuo tableteo de un teléfono móvil, un desorden organizado alrededor de un ordenador de mesa y, sobre todo, unas tremendas, ...

Icesave foes confident as referendum nears

They come from all walks of Icelandic life and across the political spectrum, but are united by one aim: to defeat a bill on paying the Netherlands and Britain vast sums lost during the island's financial meltdown. And as a national referendum nears, they sense victory. "I am confident that the voters will reject it," ...

Where will the Icesave vote take Iceland?

REYKJAVIK, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Iceland is heading toward a referendum on a deal to repay more than $5 billion to Britain and the Netherlands for money lost in its banking crisis, a vote expected to have a huge impact on the island's financial future. Latest opinion polls show Icelanders will reject the so-called Icesave bill due to what are seen as harsh terms, ...

Icesave Refusal Puts Country At Risk

celand has been negotiating with the United Kingdom and the Netherlands for over a year to establish the terms of repayment for their reimbursement of savers who lost their money after the collapse of Landsbanki's Icesave accounts in 2008. The government submitted a bill ...

Iceland Faces New Crisis After Bill To Repay Britain Is Vetoed

A diplomatic deep freeze set in Wednesday between Britain and Iceland, a day after the Icelandic president blocked the repayment of a $5.7 billion loan -- a move that threatened to plunge the tiny island nation back into another financial crisis. Icelanders are already struggling with high interest rates, ...

Keiser Report

We cover the Iceland story with an interview of Johannes Skulaso of Indefence. ...

Veto Puts Global Aid to Iceland in Jeopardy

Iceland's president vetoed a bill to reimburse the U.K. and the Netherlands for bailing out depositors of a failed Icelandic bank, throwing into question the international plan to rescue the island nation's banks and casting doubts on its bid to join the European Union. President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson on Tuesday cited massive public opposition ...

Icelandic revolt upsets Icesave deal

The move would revive an ugly diplomatic dispute and throw into doubt the country’s loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund. A bill to return the deposits was passed by the Althingi – the world’s oldest legislature – in a knife-edge vote this week after months of wrangling, but a lack of legal clarity over responsibility continues ...

Iceland draws sword on ‘pillager’ Gordon Brown

Not since Naddoddr the Viking discovered Iceland more than 1,100 years ago has any foreigner made such an impact on the rocky Atlantic island that has since become a legendary haven for elves, trolls, eclectic musicians and surprisingly perverse politicians. “I think Gordon Brown will be remembered here in Iceland for centuries,” ...

Iceland's voters set to remain out in the cold

The sun does not rise over Iceland until after 11am at the end of December and sets again before 4pm. Yet when Reykjavik's parliament, the Althingi, announced on New Year's Eve that it had approved state guarantees to cover £3.5bn of loans to compensate British and Dutch savers with the collapsed Landsbanki, it looked as if the beleaguered Atlantic island faced a bright new future. ...

The people of Iceland deserve our sympathy

"People of Britain: Surrender and we will take our freezing weather back. Best regards, Iceland." A tempting offer, posted on the Guardian website last week. But even if the snow stays, there are compelling reasons why the British and Dutch governments should not play hardball against Iceland, which is holding a referendum over the return of £3.9bn (£3.5bn) lost by savers in failedbank Landsbanki. ...

Norway Says Nordics Should Continue Iceland Bailout

Norway will encourage its Nordic neighbors to continue paying out a loan to Iceland even after President Olafur R. Grimsson blocked a bill whose passage had been linked to the bailout. “Norway stands by its commitments to Iceland,” Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said at a press conference in Oslo ...

The bill equates to £40,000 per family

The president of Iceland's decision does not mean a rejection of his country's obligations. On the contrary, Icelanders have already agreed to compensate the UK and Netherlands. The decision by Olafur Ragnar Grímsson stems instead from the fact that over 70 per cent of Icelanders find the terms of the current deal unreasonable. ...

Iceland needs international debt management

Iceland's debt equals three to nine times its gross domestic product. That is unpayable, argues international debt expert Sweder van Wijnbergen. The Netherlands will not get its money back unless there's a reasonable approach to the problem. ...