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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Iceland to pay back Icesave cash | Iceland to pay back Icesave cash |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| The Icelandic parliament has voted in favour of repaying more than $5bn (£3bn) to the governments of the UK and the Netherlands. | The Icelandic parliament has voted in favour of repaying more than $5bn (£3bn) to the governments of the UK and the Netherlands. |
| The so-called Icesave bill will reimburse funds paid by the governments to compensate those who lost money in the Icelandic online bank Icesave. | The so-called Icesave bill will reimburse funds paid by the governments to compensate those who lost money in the Icelandic online bank Icesave. |
| About 400,000 savers lost money in the high-interest accounts when its parent company Landsbanki collapsed last year. | About 400,000 savers lost money in the high-interest accounts when its parent company Landsbanki collapsed last year. |
| The money will be paid in instalments over the next 15 years. | The money will be paid in instalments over the next 15 years. |
| The deal was agreed in June, but was only passed after an amendment was added setting a limit on the payments. | The deal was agreed in June, but was only passed after an amendment was added setting a limit on the payments. |
| Controversial bill | |
| In the vote, 34 members voted in favour, 14 voted against and there were 14 abstentions. | In the vote, 34 members voted in favour, 14 voted against and there were 14 abstentions. |
| The government hopes that the agreement to make payments to the UK and the Netherlands will help it to get more financial aid. | |
| The bill has been controversial in Iceland, where some members of parliament have questioned why the government should be paying the debts of a private bank. | The bill has been controversial in Iceland, where some members of parliament have questioned why the government should be paying the debts of a private bank. |
| There is particular anger at the UK for using anti-terror laws to freeze Icelandic assets. | There is particular anger at the UK for using anti-terror laws to freeze Icelandic assets. |
| The problems stemmed from Iceland having to take over its three biggest banks. | The problems stemmed from Iceland having to take over its three biggest banks. |
| First to lose independence was First Glitnir, closely followed by Landsbanki, which owns Icesave. | First to lose independence was First Glitnir, closely followed by Landsbanki, which owns Icesave. |
| Finally, Iceland's biggest bank, Kaupthing, was nationalised in October. | Finally, Iceland's biggest bank, Kaupthing, was nationalised in October. |
| Iceland's government blamed UK Chancellor Alistair Darling for undermining confidence in Kaupthing when it used anti-terrorism laws to seize Landsbanki's UK assets. | |
| At the time, the UK loaned £2.3bn to Iceland so that the savers could be repaid. | |
| The Icesave bill's passage means that the Icelandic government has agreed to guarantee the repayment of that loan. | |
| The amount that will be paid is limited based on the level of Iceland's economic output, or gross domestic product (GDP). | |
| The country will only have to pay up to 4% of its GDP each year to the UK and 2% to the Netherlands. | |
| "The guarantee of the combined loans from the United Kingdom and the Netherlands constitutes the single largest financial commitment ever undertaken by the government of Iceland," said Iceland's prime minister Johanna Sigurdardottir. |