EFTA: Iceland must pay Icesave

[Cees Binkhorst]

REPLY TO: D66 at nic.surfnet.nl

Dus Iceland moet volgens EFTA-regels maximaal €20.000 per spaarder
terugbetalen.
Aangezien Bos max. €100.000  heeft betaald, valt het me nog mee voor de
Nederlandse regering dat €1,34 miljard terugkomt, van de €1,53 miljard
die is terugbetaald aan spaarders.
De European Economic Area bestaat uit de EU-27 en IJsland, Liechtenstein
en Noorwegen.
Zwitserse kiezers hielden toetreding in 1992 tegen, en toen zijn
bilaterale verdragen gesloten.

Groet / Cees

EFTA: Iceland must pay Icesave
http://www.icenews.is/index.php/2010/05/27/efta-iceland-must-pay-icesave/
Posted on27 May 2010.

The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) yesterday sent a letter
outlining its decision that Iceland is legally bound to insure the
minimum deposit guarantee to British and Dutch Icesave account holders.
The guarantee is part of Iceland’s EEA (European Economic Area)
membership agreement.

The minimum depositors’ guarantee is EUR 20,000 per saver in the failed
Icesave internet savings accounts which were run as a branch of
Landsbanki before it collapsed in autumn 2008. The EFTA report states
that the UK and the Netherlands have reimbursed their own savers and
that Iceland’s severe recession does not diminish the country’s
obligation to pay the two governments back.

The Icelandic government had insisted in a letter to the EFTA that the
existence of a depositors’ guarantee fund in the country was enough to
fulfil the requirements of the EU directive on cross border banking and
also that the rules do not fully apply in the case of the collapse of an
entire national banking system (as happened in Iceland). The EFTA
disagrees with this reading of European law.

The EFTA president, Per Sanderund explained that the EU directive
guarantees that each depositor is insured up to EUR 20,000 and that all
nations must make sure they guarantee that insurance without question.
This simple rule is extremely important to make customers feel that
their savings are safe, he said.

Shortly after the fall of Landsbanki the British and Dutch governments
unilaterally decided to refund savers in their countries. In the UK,
300,000 savers were paid GBP 4.5 billion, and under the directive
Iceland is responsible for GBP 2.1 billion of that. The Dutch refunded
EUR 1.53 billion to 118,000 savers and Iceland is responsible for EUR
1.34 billion, according to the EFTA.

The letter also criticises the Icelandic government for guaranteeing
domestic depositors but not those in overseas branches of Icelandic
banks – a breach of European rules, Visir.is reports.

The Icelandic government has two months to respond formally to the
letter. If Iceland does not respond appropriately, the letter could be
the first step in removing Iceland from the EEA.

“The EFTA is fully aware that Iceland, the UK and the Netherlands have
tried to agree a solution to the issue. If such a solution is found
there will be no need for further EFTA action,” said Per Sanderud.

Talks broke down in the late winter between the three countries and all
agreed that a new deal was highly unlikely before elections in the UK
and the Netherlands. With Dutch elections scheduled for 9th June, the
three countries will come back to the negotiating table again very soon.

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