A working group within the Icelandic national association of pension funds has come to the conclusion that it is not worthwhile for the funds to invest money buying and renovating rental housing. Read the full story

The Central Bank of Iceland, on behalf of the Treasury, has reached an agreement with 26 pension funds, according to which the funds will purchase Housing Financing Fund (HFF) bonds owned by the Treasury. The Treasury and the Central Bank acquired the bonds following the banks’ collapse and with agreements with Banque centrale du Luxembourg and the liquidator of Landsbanki Luxembourg on 18 May 2010. The total nominal value of the bonds is 90.2 b.kr., and the sale is made with the aim of expanding the foreign exchange reserves. Furthermore, it reduces the Treasury’s net foreign-denominated debt, which had increased because of the financing of the aforementioned purchase. According to the agreement, the pension funds will sell foreign assets and pay for the bonds in euros, remitting a total of EUR 549 million. This transaction increases the Central Bank of Iceland’s foreign exchange reserves by 82 b.kr. (512 million euros), or by 17%. Read the full story

Acting on the recommendation of the Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG), the Norwegian Ministry of Finance has announced that seventeen tobacco producing companies will be excluded from the funding scheme, with share divestment in the companies having already been completed. Read the full story

Danish pension funds are indirectly investing billions in firms involved in settlements that have been declared illegal by the United States and United Nations, it has come to light. Read the full story

Icelandic MPs from three political parties yesterday submitted a bill intended to force the country’s pension funds to accept more democracy, transparency, supervision and direct intervention from fund members. Read the full story

Sigurjon Th. Arnason, former director of Landsbanki, received two loans from his private pension fund kept by the bank. The loans were a so-called bullet loan, meaning interest payment is only due once, at the end of the loan period after 20 years. The interest rate was 3.5 percent. One loan was for ISK 40 million and the other for ISK 30 million – 70 million altogether. Read the full story

In a crippling ripple effect of the Wall Street market meltdown, Norway’s special “oil fund” may have lost nearly all of its profits garnered over the last 10 years in the space of a few months. A decade ago, the government invested around NOK 1,000 billion in the stock market. Steep drops in the market this year have potentially wiped out all of the wealth fund’s gains.

Economists suggest that the sovereign wealth fund would have more money in it today had the government simply placed the cash in the bank. The newspaper Aftenposten figures that at the end of 2007, the oil fund had earned NOK 302 billion over the first 10 years since it was established. By June 2008, the fund’s gains had been cut to NOK 165 billion.

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According to Icenews sources, a major announcement can be expected early Monday and MBL.is just reported that Icelandic government officials, representatives of the confederation of Icelandic employers and major trades unions, banking chiefs and other stakeholders met to discuss the economic situation with the Icelandic Prime Minister Geir Haarde.

Shortly after that meeting finished,  Larus Welding, Thorsteinn Mar Baldvinsson and Oskar Magnusson from Glitnir bank arrived, and soon after that, the rest of the Icelandic government. MBL.is reports.

According to sources, major funds owned by the big Icelandic pension funds and the banks are to be moved back to Iceland to help strengthen the economy and help build a strong foundation of foreign currency at the Central Bank of Iceland.