Standard & Poor’s has followed Fitch Ratings in delivering positive news on Iceland’s creditworthiness. However, both companies have stopped short of upgrading the country’s ratings. Read the full story

Icelandic businessman Bjorgolfur Thor Bjorgolfsson laid huge emphasis on keeping ownership of his Reykjavik house on Frikirkjuvegur when refinancing ISK 1,200 billion of debt recently. The house was build by his great grandfather a century ago. Read the full story

Iceland’s minister for trade, Gylfi Magnusson, says the cautionary words from the CEO of Fitch Ratings about the Icelandic Supreme Court’s ruling that foreign currency loans are illegal do not come as a surprise. Magnusson says the uncertainty surrounding how such loans will be dealt with now is unsettling. Read the full story

The Icelandic authorities have decided to activate a currency swap agreement with Denmark, Finland, Norway, Poland and Sweden. The amount being drawn on the bilateral credit lines is EUR 639 million to be used to strengthen Central Bank of Iceland foreign currency reserves. Read the full story

Iceland has dropped out of the top ten countries most likely to default, according to CMA Credit Market Analysis. CMA’s list is compiled daily and distributed to financial markets. Read the full story

The international ratings agency, Moody’s has changed its outlook on Icelandic creditworthiness from negative to stable. Read the full story

The result of Iceland’s so-called Icesave referendum has no effect on the creditworthiness of the nation, at least not directly. Read the full story

None of the biggest claimants to the estate of the bankrupt Glitnir Bank want to remain in 95 percent possession of its successor, Islandsbanki. The Bank’s resolution committee has therefore put Islandsbanki up for sale and has hired Swiss bank UBS as advisor for the sale. The reported sale price is ISK 100 billion (USD 776.7 million). Read the full story

The Icelandic government and the Glitnir Bank resolution committee have come up with two options for the future of the company and its eventual re-privatisation. Creditors are being asked to vote for their preferred option before the end of the month. Read the full story

Credit and debit card use in Iceland has reduced considerably so far this year. Household credit card turnover rates dropped about 13.8 percent from January to May this year, whilst the debit card turnover dropped nearly 0.3 percent around the same time. The total turnover on domestic credit and debit card use between January and May fell about 7.5 percent. Read the full story