Icesavers: Reply from Iceland authorities

f_@_w_y

[FONT=&quot]Dear Icesavers,
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We are all victims of ICESAVE mishap. So lets be together and keep updating ourselves with the situation!




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[FONT=&quot]I wrote an email to Icelandic compensation scheme authorities yesterday, and soon after an hour they replied me. I have added mine (in italics) email as well as theirs (in below) below.
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Dear Jonas ('jonas.thordarson@sedlabanki.is),

I am a UK saver, having an e-savings account with ICESAVE. It appears, that I will be claiming compensation as I am not able to access my funds.

Can you guide me through the procedure? I am entitled to get my 100% from your organization as my account value was less then £16000.


[FONT=&quot]Kind Regards,[/FONT]
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My name

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[FONT=&quot]Dear sir/madam[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Below is information about the application process from the Depositors’ and Investors’ Guarantee Fund along with some common questions and answers. Regarding payments from the Fund, t[/FONT][FONT=&quot]he Icelandic government has reiterated that if needed it will support the Depositors’ and Investors’ Guarantee Fund in raising necessary funds.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Kind regards, [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The Depositors’ and Investors’ Guarantee Fund[/FONT]


[FONT=&quot]About the Depositors’ and Investors’ Guarantee Fund[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The Depositors’ and Investors’ Guarantee Fund (DIGF) is a private foundation operating pursuant to Act No. 98/1999. The objective of the Act is to guarantee a minimum level of protection to depositors in commercial banks and savings banks, and to customers of companies engaging in securities trading pursuant to law, in the event of difficulties of a given company in meeting its obligations to its customers according to the provisions of the Act.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Payments from DIGF[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]DIGF is obliged to render payments to customers of a bank of the value of the deposit, if a bank is unable, in the opinion of the Icelandic Financial Supervisory Authority, to remit payment, immediately or in the near future, of the value of deposits that a customer has demanded from the bank in accordance with the applicable terms and conditions. The opinion of the Financial Supervisory Authority shall be made available no later than three weeks after the Authority first obtains confirmation that the relevant bank has not rendered payment to its customer in accordance with its obligations or if the estate of a bank is sent into receivership.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Payments from DIGF shall be made no later than three months from the time that the opinion of the Financial Supervisory Authority is published or from the time that a ruling was rendered on sending the estate of the bank into receivership. Under special circumstances, the Minister of Commerce may, upon obtaining the opinion of the Financial Supervisory Authority, grant DIGF an additional extension of up to three months beyond the general time limit of three months. Upon obtaining the opinion of the Financial Supervisory Authority, the Minister of Commerce is authorised to grant the Fund one or two additional extensions of a maximum of three months each.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Note: DIGF‘s obligation to render payments does not arise unless an opinion of the Icelandic Supervisory Authority has been published or when the estate of a bank is sent into receivership. DIGF will make a publish announcement in newspapers and on its website if this will occur.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Application Form[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]To receive payment from DIGF customers of the bank must submit to DIGF a written claim accompanied by such documents deemed necessary by the Fund to verify the claim. Application Form can be found on DIGF’s website, [/FONT][URL="outbind://64/www.tryggingarsjodur.is"][FONT=&quot]www.tryggingarsjodur.is[/FONT][/URL][FONT=&quot]. Deadline for the submittal of claims will be decided by the DIGF, in consultation with the Icelandic Financial Supervisory Authority but the timeframe shall be no more than two months.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]The claim shall be calculated based on the assets of the customers on the date that the Financial Supervisory Authority publishes its opinion or the date that a ruling is rendered on sending the estate of the member undertaking into receivership, whichever is earlier.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Amount compensated[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The minimum deposit guarantee in Iceland equals EUR 20,887. In the event that the assets of DIGF are insufficient to pay the total amount of guaranteed deposits in the bank concerned, payments shall be divided among the claimants as follows: all claims up to EUR 20,887 shall be paid in full, and any amount in excess of that shall be paid in equal proportions.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Note: No interest, that accrue after the Financial Supervisory Authority publishes its opinion or after the date that a ruling is rendered on sending the estate of a bank into receivership, are compensated.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Deposits in other currencies than Icelandic Krona (ISK) can be converted into ISK and compensated by DIGF in ISK.[/FONT]


[FONT=&quot]Questions and Answers[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]What is the Depositors' and Investors' Guarantee Fund?[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The Depositors’ and Investors’ Guarantee Fund (DIGF) is a non-profit organisation that operates in accordance with the Act on Deposit Guarantees and an Investor Compensation Scheme. The role of the Fund is to provide a minimum level of protection to deposit owners and customers of financial institutions authorised by law to engage in securities trading. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Which companies are members of the Fund? [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Commercial banks, savings banks, companies providing investment services, and other parties engaged in securities trading pursuant to law are members of the Fund. The same applies to these parties’ branch offices within the EEA. On the Fund’s website – [/FONT][URL="outbind://64/www.tryggingarsjodur.is"][FONT=&quot]www.tryggingarsjodur.is[/FONT][/URL][FONT=&quot] – is a list of member companies. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]What does the Depositors' and Investors' Guarantee Fund guarantee? [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The Fund is divided into two parts: the Deposit Division and the Securities Division. The Deposit Division guarantees deposits in banks and savings banks. The Securities Division guarantees that securities, unit share certificates, or cash are available for their owners if the need arises. In this way, the Securities Division guarantees lost securities, unit share certificates, or money. It is appropriate to note that undertakings engaged in investment services are required to keep customers’ funds securely separated from their own funds, which means that there is little likelihood that a company’s customers will lose money if the company becomes insolvent. The Securities Division does not guarantee the market value of securities funds, as such funds’ market value is determined by the value of the underlying assets. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]How large an amount is guaranteed? [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]At any given time, the Depositors' and Investors' Guarantee Fund guarantees a minimum of 20,887 euros (currently equivalent to just over 3 million Icelandic kr!nur). The Fund can reimburse the value of the deposit balance in Icelandic kr!nur.[/FONT]



[FONT=&quot]Why is this amount specified in euros?[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The European Union directives on deposit insurance and securities stipulate that minimum insurance in the EEA shall total at least 20,000 euros. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]If the minimum amount guaranteed is 20,887 euros, what is the maximum guarantee? [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The Depositors' and Investors' Guarantee Fund guarantees the entire amount on deposit if its assets are sufficient. When the Fund’s assets are not sufficient to guarantee the payment of the total deposit balance, payments are distributed so as to cover in full each claim up to 20,887 euros, with amounts in excess reimbursed proportionally up to the limit of the Fund’s assets. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]What are the Fund’s assets? [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]By law, the assets of the Deposit Division of the Fund shall total 1% of total deposits, and the assets of the Securities Division shall be 100 million Icelandic kr!nur. The Fund’s total assets currently amount to approximately 13 billion kr!nur, plus guarantees in the amount of 6 billion kr!nur. Therefore, the Fund controls a total of 19 billion kr!nur. Approximately half of the Fund’s assets are in foreign securities. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]What happens if the Fund’s total assets are insufficient to reimburse the minimum amount? [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]In that event, the Board of Directors of the Fund is authorised to borrow funds. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Is the minimum guarantee amount paid for each bank account?[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]No. The guarantee provided by the Fund extends to the total amount of each individual or company’s balance (that is, each national ID number) in each bank. Therefore, a customer who owns several accounts in the same bank will receive payment of the minimum amount, or 20,887 euros (currently just over 3 million kr!nur). [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]What happens if more than one deposit institution becomes insolvent at the same time?[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The minimum amount guaranteed by the Fund is based on each national ID number in each bank. If a deposit owner has accounts in more than one deposit institution – two, for example – and both of them become insolvent at the same time, the customer in question will receive two payments equalling the combined balance of the deposits in the two banks or, at least, twice the minimum payment. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]When does the Fund remit payments? [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The Depositors' and Investors' Guarantee Fund is required to pay deposit owners if member companies are unable, in the opinion of the Financial Supervisory Authority, to pay the amount that the customers have requested from the member company (companies) in question. The opinion of the Financial Supervisory Authority shall have been made available no later than three weeks after the Authority first obtains confirmation that the relevant member company has not rendered payment to its customers. Furthermore, the Fund is obliged to pay deposit owners if the estate of a member company is subjected to bankruptcy proceedings. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]How long does it take the Fund to remit payment? [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The Fund expedites payment insofar as is possible. By law, the Fund shall remit payment within three months of the time the Financial Supervisory Authority renders an opinion that the deposit institution in question cannot remit payment or the company is subjected to bankruptcy proceedings. The Minister of Business Affairs can extend the payment deadline, however, upon receipt of an opinion by the Financial Supervisory Authority. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]How do I file a claim with the Depositors' and Investors' Guarantee Fund?[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Claim forms can be found on the Depositors' and Investors' Guarantee Fund’s website. Completed claim forms shall be sent to the Depositors’ and Investors’ Guarantee Fund, Kalkofnsvegur 1, 150 Reykjav!k. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Icesave customers of Landsbanki in UK can revert to FSCS UK with their claims. The Fund and FSCS will use a joint application form.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]When must I file a claim with the Fund? [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]A decision on the length of time deposit owners and owners of securities have to file claims with the Fund is announced in each instance in the Official Gazette (Lögbirtingablaðið) and in newspapers. However, this deadline is generally not longer than two months for deposit owners, while it is never shorter than five months for owners of securities. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Does the Fund guarantee deposits in foreign currency? [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Yes. No distinction is made between deposits in Icelandic kr!nur and those in other currencies. The Fund can reimburse the value of the deposit balance in Icelandic kr!nur.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Are deposits in foreign branches of Icelandic banks guaranteed by the Fund? [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Yes. The Fund’s guarantees extend to all customers of Icelandic banks and their branches, both domestic and foreign, irrespective of legal address. Foreign deposits with subsidiaries of Icelandic banks are guaranteed by the guarantee funds in the countries concerned. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]What does “top-up” mean?[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Top-up is the English term for supplemental deposit insurance. Some foreign branches of Icelandic banks have also guaranteed deposits in their countries of business with the guarantee funds of the countries concerned. With such supplemental deposit insurance, foreign deposit owners are in a same position as other depositors in their country. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Where do owners of deposits in foreign branches turn if an Icelandic bank becomes insolvent? [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Because of the supplemental deposit insurance that some foreign branches of Icelandic banks have with foreign guarantee funds, the Fund has concluded collaboration agreements with a large number of foreign guarantee funds. The agreements guarantee collaboration between the Icelandic Fund and its foreign counterparts in the event of a crisis. If supplemental deposit insurance exists, foreign deposit owners should turn to the guarantee fund in their home country. If such supplemental deposit insurance is not in place, they should turn to the Icelandic Depositors' and Investors' Guarantee Fund. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Icesave customers of Landsbanki in UK can revert to FSCS UK with their claims. The Fund and FSCS will use a joint application form.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Does it cost anything to apply for reimbursement from the Icelandic Depositors' and Investors' Guarantee Fund?[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]No. The Fund’s service is rendered free of charge. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]When is it appropriate to turn to the Icelandic Depositors' and Investors' Guarantee Fund?[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Cases are only addressed by the Fund when the Financial Supervisory Authority has declared that the member company has become insolvent or when the member company has requested bankruptcy proceedings. If consumers have comments on the operations of member companies, the Financial Supervisory Authority operates an information and guidance service for consumers. The telephone number is +354 525 2755. Further information can be found on the Financial Supervisory Authority website: [/FONT][URL="outbind://64/www.fme.is"][FONT=&quot]www.fme.is[/FONT][/URL][FONT=&quot]. [/FONT]