Bravo people of Iceland

[malaise]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13022524
<snip>
Icelanders have rejected the latest plan to repay the UK and Netherlands some 4bn euros lost when the country's banking system collapsed in 2008.

Partial referendum results show 58% voting no, and 42% supporting the plan.

Johanna Sigurdardottir, Iceland's Prime Minister, said the rejection meant "the worst option was chosen".

UK Treasury minister Danny Alexander said the decision was "disappointing" and the matter would go to an international court.


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Make the fucking banks and their cronies pay

[dixiegrrrrl]

1. And yet, after they vote no," the matter would go to an international court."

Ireland is being taken over by the banks now, losing their sovereign wealth.

Ours is gone, but few people have really grasped the fact yet.

[malaise]

2. Markets,corporations and the international political class

matter way more than citizens.
If we lose our money when Ponzi schemes fail, why on earth shouldn't the irresponsible morons who invested people's pension funds in Icelandic banks not be thrown in prison? Why should the poor citizens of Iceland pay for the folly of the robber barons?

It's the same shit everywhere. We are all paying to prop up the corrupt thieves while they refuse to even pay taxes. What a fugging planet!

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. 'The banks' in this case are now owned by the Icelandic taxpayers

If you want them to pay, then the Icelandic taxpayer will pay. The alternative, which is what has happened so far, is that the British and Dutch taxpayers pay - who already paid the €20,000 or so to each depositor (the Icelandic government already paid it to Icelandic depositors, but didn't to foreign obnes), which is what this is all about.

[malaise]

6. I don't see why the citizens of Iceland should pay for the

folly of bankers, politicians and paper speculators. Those 'overseas' who put overseas citizens in financial jeopardy should pay.

[muriel_volestrangler]

7. Because it was an established part of banking regulation to guarantee the first part of the deposits

and the Icelandic government said, before the banks went bust, that it was able to cover the guarantee.

3 August 2008

Jonas Thordarson, executive manager at the Icelandic compensation body, which operates out of the small offices of Iceland's central bank, says there is no reason for UK savers to fear that they would have to wait a long time to get back their money.

'It is the law that we must repay depositors within three months,' says Thordarson. 'Our fund is supervised by the Icelandic financial services authority and backed by the Icelandic Government. UK savers have no need to worry that the claiming process would not be completely straightforward and fast.'

Read more: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/savings-and-banking/article.html?in_article_id=448883&in_page_id=7#ixzz1J7dmxFBJ

and confirmed it was its responsibility shortly after:

The Government of Iceland underlines that deposits in domestic commercial and savings banks and their branches in Iceland will be fully covered. "Deposit" refers to all deposits by general customers and companies which are covered by the Deposit Division of the Depositors’ and Investors’ Guarantee Fund.

Reykjavik, 6 October 2008

http://eng.forsaetisraduneyti.is/news-and-articles/nr/3033

(ie there is not a distinction between deposits by domestic and foreign customers; if it was an Icelandic bank, then it was covered).

Posted on 16 November 2008

PRESS RELEASE FROM Ministry for Foreign Affairs

According to the agreed guidelines, the government of Iceland will cover deposits of insured depositors in the Icesave accounts in accordance with EEA law

Read more: http://www.icenews.is/index.php/2008/11/16/icesave-agreed-guidelines-reached-on-deposit-guarantees/#ixzz1J7c7LA8Z

The 'financial jeopardy' was from believing the Icelandic authorities' claims that they were able to cover the €20,000 deposit guarantee. The jeopardy came from Iceland.

[malaise]

8. Why would so called rational people believe that?

Thanks for the links.

[muriel_volestrangler]

9. Why would they believe governments when they say they guarantee the smaller deposits?

Well, because governments had kept their word on it in the past. For instance, the American government guaranteed up to $250,000 of deposits, even under George Bush. Wouldn't you have trusted the Icelandic government more readily than Bush? When the guarantee is for only about a tenth of the size of the American one?

I see Jamaica has a similar scheme, covering about €5000 per depositor, if I've got the exchange rate right. Is it irrational to believe that?

[malaise]

10. In the context of deregulation or government regulators cozying up to the

banks/corporations, I don't trust any of them. After all when they crash said governments will impose draconian policies on the majority of their weakest citizens.

[Ghost Dog]

11. These refer to deposits, yes. There's no mention of interest though.

If the taxpayers have to pay the depositors, they should in their turn be able to claim repayment from those who grew wealthy punting this scam.

[muriel_volestrangler]

12. I agree the interest is not covered, and should probably be less

The first time the voters rejected this, the interest was going to be about 5.5%pa, which definitely seemed too much. This proposal was 3 or 3.5%, I think, which is still fairly high for loans to governments. I think there would be a good argument for it either being the British/Euro base rate (0.5% for the former at the moment), or no interest at all.

Whoever does pay will get the assets of the old bank that were set aside for this, which should cover much (but unlikely to be all) of the bill; but saying who grew wealthy from the 'scam' is more problematic. This 'scam' was just Icelandic banks raising money by paying the top market rate to depositors. They then leant rather recklessly to Icelandic speculators who, it turned out, couldn't repay the loans (hence there being some assets which aren't enough to cover all the deposits). The shareholders of the banks in their former form have, I'm pretty sure, lost all the value of the shares they held. I expect the speculators have managed to hold on to some of the money they 'made' when things were going OK for them, but it would be nice to see it recovered from them somehow.

[Jmaxfie1]

4. Iceland...Black Metal province. n/t

[xchrom]

5. The citizens of Iceland know they didn't break it. Nt