Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, in an article she wrote for the EU Observer, underlines that Iceland will pay Icesave depositors, and explains why many Icelanders are unsatisfied with the current deal.
“The Government of Iceland remains fully committed to honouring Iceland’s obligations in the Icesave dispute with Britain and the Netherlands under international commitments regarding the collapsed Icelandic bank Landsbanki hf.,” she opens. “My government has pledged this; the Icelandic Althingi (Parliament) has agreed, and the country’s major political parties are also in agreement on this basic tenet.”
That being said, she begins to explain why many Icelanders are unsatisfied with the current Icesave deal. She points out that neither Icelandic nor British nor Dutch authorities had regulations in place that could protect depositors against banks engaging in high-risk operations, and that, “European legislation on deposit guarantees, as has been pointed out, is flawed in not envisaging the possibility of a systemic banking collapse. Finally, the nation is dissatisfied with the draconian measures implemented by the British government, which exacerbated a distressed situation.”
That article in its entirety can be read here.