Iceland: growth, sound(er) economy ≠ popularity
A short aside to those who think it’s only the economy, stupid – well, at least this is not the case in Iceland.
A short aside to those who think it’s only the economy, stupid – well, at least this is not the case in Iceland.
LONDON | Much is made of his (self-proclaimed) socialism. Yet, it is more likely that Jeremy Corbyn gathered support not because he is a socialist but in spite of being one.
LONDON | Why the Troika and the EU member states find it so difficult to trust Greece.
LONDON | July 13, 2015 | By Sigrún Davídsdóttir | Many controlling shareholders in China have pledged shares as collateral for bank loans – this was a common practice in Iceland up to the October 2008 banking collapse. Now this practice seems to be causing share trading suspensions in China.
LONDON | June 30, 2015 | By Sigrún Davídsdóttir | Now that Greece has controls on outflow from banks, capital controls, many commentators are comparing Greece to Iceland. There is little comparison to be made between the nature of capital controls in these two countries. The controls are different in every respect except in the name. Iceland had, what I would call, real capital controls – Greece has control on outflow from banks. With the names changed, the difference is clear.
LONDON | June 1, 2015 | By Sigrún Davídsdóttir | Austria was one of the eleven founding members of the Eurozone in January 1999, but the Austrians never quite put their money where their mouth was: Austria is the only euro country where households flocked to take out foreign currency loans. About three quarters of these loans are coupled with repayment vehicles.
LONDON | April 29, 2015 | By Sigrún Davídsdóttir | The 2008 crisis put some damper on FX lending, did not stop it though and in addition legacy issues remain. Now, actions by foreign currency borrowers in various countries are also unveiling a less glorious aspect: mis-selling and breach of European Directives on consumer protection.
LONDON | March 6, 2015 | By Sigrún Davídsdóttir | Both in Cyprus and Iceland foreign funds flowed into the islands, in the end forcing the government to make use of extreme measures when the tide turned. These measures are normally called ‘capital controls’ which in these two cases hides the fact that the measures used are fundamentally different in all but name. In Iceland, the controls contain the effect of lacking foreign currency, effectively a balance of payment problem – in Cyprus, the controls were a way of defending banks against bank run, i.e. preventing depositors to move funds freely.
LONDON | By Sigrún Davídsdóttir | Why do the inhabitants of an EU country prefer to keep cash amounting to ca. 6% of GDP hidden at home? Badly burnt after the banking collapse in March 2013 Cypriots neither trust their government nor banks to keep their money safe.
LONDON | By Sigrún Davídsdóttir | One of the things that the HSBC whistleblower Hervé Falciani has pointed out is the mess the HSBC computer system was with all the inherent safety risks involved, not to mention that it made it difficult for the bank to have any meaningful overview.