The governments of Iceland, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands have held regular consultations on the Icesave issue during the past few weeks. A delegation led by Iceland's Minister of Finance, Steingrímur J. Sigfússon, and the Chairmen of the opposition Progressive and Independece parties, Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson and Bjarni Benediktsson, left Iceland yesterday to meet with key counterparts in The Hague. More ...

“I would like to emphasize that the Economic Programme in co-operation with the IMF should continue without interruption, even though a solution to the Icesave matter will be postponed because of the planned national referendum”, the Prime Minister of Iceland, Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir, said today in a letter to the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn. More ...

The Icelandic Parliament, Althingi, convened today to debate a Government bill regarding the preparation for a national referendum on the so-called Icesave legislation. This comes in the wake of the President of Iceland´s decision on 5 January not to sign into law a bill which provides for a state guarantee of loan repayments to the British and Dutch governments. More ...

The Government of Iceland has decided to hold a national referendum on the so-called Icesave legislation, following broad consultations with both coalition and opposition parties as well as employers' associations and labor unions. The referendum is expected to take place late February. More ...

The President of Iceland has declined to sign a law authorising a state guarantee for repayment of loans provided by the UK and the Netherlands to the Depositors' and Investors' Guarantee Fund, intended to cover payment of the minimum deposit guarantees to depositors in the UK and Netherlands branches of the failed Landsbanki Íslands hf. More ...

ESA has now also given notification of its preliminary views on seven other complaints from foreign financial institutions which are general claimants of one or another of the former banks concerning the legislation and actions by Icelandic authorities in connection with them. ESA´s preliminary findings are in all instances similar to that of 4 December, i.e. it accepts the arguments advanced by Iceland in these cases, the priority granted to deposits is legitimate, in ESA´s assessment, and the Icelandic authorities were, in the estimation of the Authority, entitled to safeguard the banking system and security of the general public. More ...

The EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA) presented its preliminary findings in a letter dated 4 December 2009 on a complaint raised by a group of general creditors of the Icelandic banks Glitnir bank, Kaupthing bank, Landsbanki Islands, SPRON and Sparisjodabanki Islands. More ...

The IMF's Executive Board aims to discuss the first review of Iceland's economic programme at its meeting on Wednesday 28 October. More ...

Following the entry into force of Act No. 96/2009 on 2 September this year, providing a state guarantee for the Icesave Loan Agreements, discussions have been held between the Icelandic government and the Depositors’ and Investors’ Guarantee Fund (the Guarantee Fund) and representatives of the governments of the UK and the Netherlands. These discussions have now concluded and the outcome has today been presented to the government, the parliamentary Budget Committee, the coalition party caucuses and the leaders of the opposition parties. More ...