10/7/08

Iceland Internet Bank Chaos Has Chilling Effect

British savers denied cash as chaos hits Iceland bank

HUNDREDS of thousands of UK savers were yesterday blocked from withdrawing their cash from Icesave, the troubled Icelandic internet bank, amid warnings the parent group was likely to go into liquidation
Icesave's owner, Landsbanki, has been nationalised and put in receivership – and the UK Financial Services Authority (FSA) believes it will go bust.
Furious British customers were told they faced battling through two different compensation schemes to get their money back.
It sought to reassure domestic savers that their money was fully guaranteed by the government, adding that domestic branches, call centres, cash machines and internet operations would be "open for business as usual".
But the guarantee did not extend to UK savers. Customers logging on to Icesave's website were greeted with a message telling them the group was not processing any deposits or withdrawal requests on its internet accounts.
Justin Smith, an IT consultant from west London, said: "I feel confused and badly informed by Icesave – there has been no direct communication from the firm and now I am unable to withdraw my life savings, with no idea what happens from here."
The Icelandic government is supposed to step in and cover any shortfall, but with the country struggling to avoid economic collapse there are doubts as to whether the government would be able to guarantee deposits worth twice the country's GDP. On Monday night Geir Haarde, the prime minister, warned there was a threat of "national bankruptcy".
An Icesave spokeswoman said that, as a last resort, three other Scandinavian governments – Sweden, Norway and Denmark – would back Iceland in an emergency.
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Global consolidators turning up the heat
The melt down of the Icelandic internet-only bank "Icesave" has left hundreds of thousands of non-Iceland citizens in total limbo with no answers. Apparently the nationals are covered but the Icelandic government is claiming insufficient funds to cover the hundreds of thousands of British customers whose accounts are now frozen. Prediction: This will not be an isolated incident. If it works once it will work again. They, the 'global consolidators', are going for the kill.
Something else going on here too. It is interesting to note the possibility of a "new order" as a result of the created "chaos". Sweden, Norway, and Denmark pledging to "back Iceland in an emergency". Is some sort of creative consolidation of the four countries in the works to either "prevent" or to "rectify" Iceland's national bankruptcy? A Scandinavian Union perhaps?
FDIC failure? (can it happen here?)
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Rev. 18:4 'Come out of her, my people..'

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