Icesave

Icesave was an online savings brand owned by Landsbanki (an international financial services provider whose headquarters are in Iceland). The Icelandic government took control over Landsbanki on 7 October 2008.

Services

Icesave offered savings accounts only to personal savers. It operated in two European countries - the UK (where it has operated since October 2006) and the Netherlands (where it operated since May 2008). However, Landsbanki's 2007 annual report states there are intentions to roll the brand out to additional territories throughout 2008 and 2009.

In the UK, Icesave's marketing slogan was "clear difference", and it offered three types of savings account: an easy-access savings account, a Cash ISA (Individual Savings Account), and a range of fixed-rate bonds.

In the Netherlands, Icesave's marketing slogan was "de transparante spaarbank (English: "the transparent savings bank"), and it offered just one type of savings account: an easy-access savings account.

Insolvency

On 7th October 2008 the Icesave UK website announced: "We are not currently processing any deposits or any withdrawal requests through our Icesave internet accounts. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause our customers. We hope to provide you with more information shortly. The FSA warned customers that they were anticipating the bank's insolvency and compensation claims might be necessary.

On 8th October UK prime minister Gordon Brown announced that the UK government would launch legal action against Iceland, whose government allegedly announced that they had no intention of compensating any of the estimated 300,000 UK savers. Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling announced that the UK government would foot the entire bill, estimated at £4bn, and that he was taking steps to freeze the assets of Landsbanki.

On the same day, Geir Haarde, prime minister of Iceland, announced that the Icelandic government intended to honor its obligations and negotiate with the British authorities on the savings. The Icelandic government believes that the foreign assets of Landsbanki are sufficient to cover most of the savings. Geir Haarde said that the Icelandic government was in no way running away from its obligations and suggested that Brown's remarks were grounded in a misunderstanding. Haarde stated furthermore that no Icelandic official had told the British government that Iceland would not honor its obligations.

In the Netherlands the Minister of Finance, Wouter Bos did announced that all savers will receive up to 100.000 euro's back. The First 20.887 is for the Icelandic account ant the rest up to 100.000 is for the Dutch account. All Dutch savers can file claims at the Dutch Central Bank (part of the ECB) and they will collect in Iceland.