Brian K. writes from the UK
October 23rd
I'm rather appalled by what's being said on both 'sides' over the Icelandic & British banking crisis & just want to comment as an ordinary Englishman who had savings in Icesave & Kaupthing Edge.
To me it's absolute nonsense to suggest that the British think Icelanders are terrorists & criminals. I've not had contact with anyone who is so stupid or so jingoistic & if Icelanders are now regarding the British as their enemies, that is also madness. I won't sign your petition because: it reinforces those negative perceptions; because I don't think this situation is the fault of the British Prime Minister; & don't believe such a petition expressing solidarity between our peoples is necessary.
I put some of my savings in Icelandic banks because I was led to believe they were a safe bet with good rates of interest & because of the guarantee of the Icelandic government. It seemed unwise to leave my savings solely in British banks. I had slight advance warning from a banking contact in Iceland, that as Icesave got into trouble the Icelandic goverment might renege on its guarantee to British savers. I didn't believe it because I didn't think a western country would be so dishonourable & because banking depends on confidence & such an act would destroy confidence in Icelandic banks. But then the head of the Central Bank of Iceland made public comments that seemed to say just that. This shocked me & I tried to withdraw my money from Icesave to find it had been frozen. I then got very worried about my savings in Kaupthing Edge. It was a tremendous relief when Gordon Brown acted quickly to protect British savers. My Kaupthing savings are now hopefully safe, but my Icesave account is still inaccessible. I am not wealthy & am nearing the end of my career so my life savings are important to me & irreplaceable. I am left with no confidence in Icelandic banks & would find it hard to trust them again.
A couple of years ago, I spent some time travelling around Iceland, I found Icelanders great people & their country a fascinating & beautiful place. I've a particular interest in storytelling, folktales & legends & Iceland has a rich store of them. It defeats me why anyone with even the tiniest amount of sense, might think that the inadequacy, incompetence & greed of bankers in Iceland (& they're no worse than elsewhere - after all, this crisis began in America with the collapse of Lehman Brothers & we've had our problems with British banks) has anything to do with the decency & honesty of ordinary Icelandic people. They are the victims of the banking crisis, as are British people, more so, as the Icelandic debt is enormous & the population small. I'm appalled that Icelanders and British people seem now to be flinging insults at each other. So...of course I feel solidarity with Icelanders, but also believe the British government essentially did what it needed to do. Governments aren't perfect & it seems to me the Icelandic government failed to act sensibly - & maybe the British government response was harsh. But, I'm neither a banker or a politician & neither are most folk, whether they be Icelanders or British.
The situation was well summed up by the Professor of Economics at the London Business School writing in the Financial Times. He said:
a) the situation was precipitated by the collapse of Lehman Brothers in USA
b) The actions of the Governor of the Central Bank of Iceland, David Oddsson, "reflected politics, technical incompetence and ignorance of markets, and his comments thereafter were highly destabilising". "Mr Oddsson made public remarks that were interpreted to mean that Iceland would not meet its obligations to UK depositors. This was politics for home consumption. So was the UK's retaliation, with an ill-considered invocation of anti-terror laws to seize the UK assets not only of Landsbanki, but also of Kaupthing.
c) "The Icelandic banks were highly leveraged and large relative to the domestic economy. So are those of the UK and Switzerland. None has been immune to the devastating effects of the crisis. And there may be significant contagion from Iceland to countries vulnerable to capital flow reversals"
d) "Politicians should not become central bank governors. Mr Oddsson is part of the problem, not of any solution, and should resign immediately"
So, this should not be about rivalry between countries or their peoples. For God's sake, we are all in this together, all facing difficulties & should be friends, or at least allies - there should be solidarity in adversity.
Brian K.
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