digigeek
Pompetus of Love
David,
I was born and raised in Iceland. I do not support the current Icelandic administration, nor have I supported any administration there since the "Independance" party came into a parliamentary majority.
That said, you got much of the story wrong - as did many people, mostly due to terrible media reporting.
1) The PM of Iceland did not say that they would not return investors' money. That was a complete misquote and incorrect. Go to the BBC and watch any number of the recent video clips from his meetings with UK officials and you'll see and hear what he ACTUALLY said.
2) Icelandic officials has promised to return all private investor money, even though anyone who does any homework at all KNOWS that the accounts at Kaupthing were only insured for GBP 35,000 and the ones at IceSave only insured for GBP 16,500. This was always a well known fact and the amounts are completely in line with (the 35,000 amount is quite standard in the UK and in Europe) the rest of Europe.
3) I find it hard to believe that local Councils and wealthy private investors in the UK should have invested such HUGE amounts in a SINGLE fund that clearly stated its insured maximum return amount and had been downgraded (risk ratings) this past spring. Many, many councils and citizens moved their money out of these accounts when the spring ratings were released. Most intelligent investors know enough to diversify their exposure and not risk anything they cannot stand to lose.
4) These were NOT Savings accounts of the normal kind, these were money market accounts with a very high yield of return. Most people and Councils in the UK willingly moved their funds from ING accounts (or other similar accounts) with a lesser rate of return into these Icelandic market accounts. They knew full-well what they were doing and the risk they were taking. They were warned clearly last spring about the banks being in potential trouble as a result of over-extending themselves in foreign markets. This was all over the BBC, Sky, Financial Times, etc.
5) This entire problem, just like our own issues in the US, was caused by the combined and synergistic greed of all the individuals involved.
6) To those who the UK media are showing as having lost hundreds of thousands of pounds to the evil Icelandic banks (their entire savings, of course), invariably these are clearly shown to be private citizens who invested all their money into a fund managed bny THEIR COUNCIL who, in turn, put all the darned money into high-yield money market accounts in Iceland, which had an insurance CAP of 35,000 or 16,500 PER ACCOUNT. Holy Mackerel! What a bunch of greedy rubes! All for an extra one or 1.5 percent yield.
I was born and raised in Iceland. I do not support the current Icelandic administration, nor have I supported any administration there since the "Independance" party came into a parliamentary majority.
That said, you got much of the story wrong - as did many people, mostly due to terrible media reporting.
1) The PM of Iceland did not say that they would not return investors' money. That was a complete misquote and incorrect. Go to the BBC and watch any number of the recent video clips from his meetings with UK officials and you'll see and hear what he ACTUALLY said.
2) Icelandic officials has promised to return all private investor money, even though anyone who does any homework at all KNOWS that the accounts at Kaupthing were only insured for GBP 35,000 and the ones at IceSave only insured for GBP 16,500. This was always a well known fact and the amounts are completely in line with (the 35,000 amount is quite standard in the UK and in Europe) the rest of Europe.
3) I find it hard to believe that local Councils and wealthy private investors in the UK should have invested such HUGE amounts in a SINGLE fund that clearly stated its insured maximum return amount and had been downgraded (risk ratings) this past spring. Many, many councils and citizens moved their money out of these accounts when the spring ratings were released. Most intelligent investors know enough to diversify their exposure and not risk anything they cannot stand to lose.
4) These were NOT Savings accounts of the normal kind, these were money market accounts with a very high yield of return. Most people and Councils in the UK willingly moved their funds from ING accounts (or other similar accounts) with a lesser rate of return into these Icelandic market accounts. They knew full-well what they were doing and the risk they were taking. They were warned clearly last spring about the banks being in potential trouble as a result of over-extending themselves in foreign markets. This was all over the BBC, Sky, Financial Times, etc.
5) This entire problem, just like our own issues in the US, was caused by the combined and synergistic greed of all the individuals involved.
6) To those who the UK media are showing as having lost hundreds of thousands of pounds to the evil Icelandic banks (their entire savings, of course), invariably these are clearly shown to be private citizens who invested all their money into a fund managed bny THEIR COUNCIL who, in turn, put all the darned money into high-yield money market accounts in Iceland, which had an insurance CAP of 35,000 or 16,500 PER ACCOUNT. Holy Mackerel! What a bunch of greedy rubes! All for an extra one or 1.5 percent yield.
