All three Icelandic banks now nationalised

All three banks in Iceland are now under government control. This morning the assets of Kaupthing Bank – the biggest in the country – were seized, just days after Iceland’s two other banks were put into the hands of financial regulators. Iceland’s banking system was said to be on the brink of collapse. The stock market has been shut. The government has even asked Russia for a four-billion euro lbail-out.

Meanwhile France, Belgium, and Luxembourg have said they will guarantee loans for the banking group Dexia for at least a month to allow it to consolidate its position. Its shares have lost half their value in the last month. The Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme said the same guarantee could be given to all Belgian banks if they met the same criteria.

The European Commission is keen to stress that the savings of the citizens of the bloc are safe. Joaquim Almunia, the Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs, insisted everything is under control: “Nobody will lose their savings, really. There are financial institutions that have some problems, but thanks to public money or the take-over of other public and private institutions, nobody has lost their deposit.” You can watch that interview in full, here on euronews, this evening.

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