A decision handed down by the Supreme Court has ruled that the so-called “emergency law” stands, meaning that the assets of Old Landsbanki will be used to pay off the Icesave debt.
In essence, the emergency law gave a preferential position to deposits when paying out of the former Landsbanki. In the various solutions to the Icesave matter that have arisen, that Landsbanki – of which Icesave was an online branch – pay the bulk if not all of the money owed has been argued strongly, both within the government and by those who objected to previous Icesave agreements.
Today, the Supreme Court has ruled that Landsbanki has the assets to pay the Icesave debt. This equals up to 21,000 euros for each Icesave account. The ruling is binding and cannot be appealed.
At a press conference held just minutes ago, the Landsbanki resolution committee explained the matter for the press. They emphasised that they could not give an exact date for when paying back Icesave will begin, as there are “many technical matters to go over”. However, they did see that they will present a general plan of payment by 17 November.
As has come up previously, Iceland has been looking at the possibility of going before EFTA court over Icesave. The resolution committee said that should EFTA move forward with this, Landsbanki will not be a defendant; that would be the Icelandic government.
A statement from the prime minister’s office welcomes the decision of the Supreme Court.
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