How has the Icelandic government resolved the issues of Landsbanki-Icesave customers in the UK and the Netherlands?
On 18 November 2008, the Government of Iceland and several EU Member States reached a common understanding on the interpretation of legal obligations with respect to deposit guarantees in the European Economic Area. With this understanding an important step has been taken to resolve the Icesave dispute with the United Kingdom and the Netherlands that arose after Landsbanki Bank was taken into administration in October 2008. Parties agreed on guidelines that will form the basis of future negotiations. The Agreed Guidelines entail that: • The Government of Iceland will cover deposits of insured depositors in the so-called Icesave accounts in accordance with EEA law, thereby guaranteeing up to 20,887 euros for each account. • The EU, under the French Presidency, will continue to participate in finding arrangements that will allow for Iceland’s financial recovery.
