Iceland: "We're keeping your money, suckers!"

[Faeelin]

If we're going to call people who invest for an extra half a percent greedy, why shouldn't we call bankers who knew they couldn't repay their deposits greedy?

Why can't you admit you were wrong about deposit guarantees?

I admit I was wrong?

Feel better? 

[The Minsky Moment]

being a citizen of a place doesn't equal being not a citizen of a place.

Hence the need of putting a non-discrimination clause into an inter-governmental accord.

[Crazy_Ivan80]

People are greedy, but seeking out a decent interest rate in a sound bank is hardly the most egregious display of that greed 

continuing to stick around when people in the know are warning of the dangers of staying around is. That or stupidity. Better to be called greedy rather than stupid then I guess

Wasn't there a government guarantee?

and you believe everything people -especially those in power- say?


that said, and I do want to make this clear, my responsses are how I would feel if I were such an Icelander, or if it was me who have to pay the equivalent of 13K euros to some stranger.
Iceland must of course do what's best for the country but what that is... Well, let's say that there are countries who do far worse things and don't get treated any differently for it.

[grumbler]

continuing to stick around when people in the know are warning of the dangers of staying around is. That or stupidity. Better to be called greedy rather than stupid then I guess

I guess it is stupid for them not to know then what you know now, but frankly you were stupid as well, because you didn't know then, either.

The fact is that the Icelandic finance minister assured depositors that Iceland's government would protect against a failure a mere two days before the failure.

[Viking]

The Greedy ones would be the Icelandic bankers who decided they could take people's money and breach laws guaranteeing deposits, no?

How did the bankers breach laws about *governmental* guarantee of deposits?

To the best of my knowledge they did not. Banks are bound by law (iirc) to keep some percent of their liabilities on hand. Laws all over the world (not just iceland) have for a long time been lowering that level, the banks have been lobbying for it. This extra cash has then been invested in various project of variable liquidity.

The Icelandic bankers were simply more aggressive in leveraging their deposits than others. Now our problem was that ALL our banks did that. Every bank from the farmers coop bank to the marble plated Bank of Iceland were trying to turn themselves into investment banks at the behest and to the benefit of their owners (the farmers, workers and fishermans coop banks were all privatised and merged). The two great creditors (the UK and The Netherlands) both had banking failures in the same period. The difference is that the 60M Britishers and the 20M Dutch could find the cash to prop up the bank that failed. The 300K Icelanders had to not only prop up all the local banks but also some rather large foreign ones as well.

To the best of my knowledge these "crazy" banks never lost money. They were just leveraged up to the hilt and reliant on cheap, quick and easy credit to stay liquid. When the credit stopped, they were left with non-liquid assets they couldn't sell (at a decent price) to pay their short term debts.

[katmai]

I say we nuke them from orbit, just to be sure.

[Viking]

Iceland = Third World

low income, single export, all infrastructure in one spot, corrupt politicians, yepp.. that sounds like a third world country

[The Minsky Moment]

The two great creditors (the UK and The Netherlands) both had banking failures in the same period. The difference is that the 60M Britishers and the 20M Dutch could find the cash to prop up the bank that failed. The 300K Icelanders had to not only prop up all the local banks but also some rather large foreign ones as well.

Which kind of raises the obvious questions about the wisdom of Iceland to keep out of the EU.

[Viking]

I say we nuke them from orbit, just to be sure.

yeah yeah, turn our country into a wasteland racked by a nuclear winter will you.. that would probably be an improvement.

[Barrister]

I say we nuke them from orbit, just to be sure.

yeah yeah, turn our country into a wasteland racked by a nuclear winter will you.. that would probably be an improvement.

Doesn't sound like anything would change to be honest. 

[Viking]

The two great creditors (the UK and The Netherlands) both had banking failures in the same period. The difference is that the 60M Britishers and the 20M Dutch could find the cash to prop up the bank that failed. The 300K Icelanders had to not only prop up all the local banks but also some rather large foreign ones as well.

Which kind of raises the obvious questions about the wisdom of Iceland to keep out of the EU.

We have already applied, for precisely that reason. Personally I think we just want to get in before we have to default, so the EU can bail us out properly.

[The Brain]

I'd rather have Turkey in the EU than Iceland. 

JUST KIDDING LOL

[Mr.Penguin]

I'd rather have Turkey in the EU than Iceland. 

JUST KIDDING LOL

damn it you almost got me there...

[Josquius]

I'd rather have Turkey in the EU than Iceland. 

JUST KIDDING LOL

If Iceland aren't going to pay back the money I'd agree with that.
But then I support Turkey in the EU anyway.
I wonder what will happen, this is a huge cassus beli, a big FU from Iceland but of course these things aren't followed up on between first world democracies so...hmm

[Viking]

I'd rather have Turkey in the EU than Iceland. 

JUST KIDDING LOL

If Iceland aren't going to pay back the money I'd agree with that.
But then I support Turkey in the EU anyway.
I wonder what will happen, this is a huge cassus beli, a big FU from Iceland but of course these things aren't followed up on between first world democracies so...hmm

meh.. the RN isn't quite what it was during the cod wars...