The International Monetary Fund announced today the long overdue review of its Iceland recovery package will take place next Wednesday,Visir.is.
The Icelandic broadcaster RUV announced last night that the permanent IMF representative in Reykjavik had preliminarily confirmed that the IMF Board will work on the review next week.
Iceland’s Prime Minister, Johanna Sigurdardottir said after yesterday’s cabinet meeting that she believed the IMF review would be back on the table next week and that the second tranche of the loan to Iceland would finally become available.
The IMF review was due in February but has been delayed by Iceland’s dispute with the Netherlands and the UK over Landsbanki’s failed Icesave savings accounts.
A final bill to settle the Icesave issue was signed on Monday this week and looks set to be passed by Althingi, Iceland’s parliament – although Steingrimur J. Sigfusson’s (Icelandic Minister of Finance) application to fast track the bill through parliament this week was rejected by the opposition.
Well, the obvious answer is the relative influence that the two sides have within the IMF. However, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t also other good reasons.
The IMF might reasonably prefer to know for certain what the position is in Iceland before it lends money, rather than putting a plan in place and then finding out that Iceland owes another EUR 4bn.
The same with the Nordics, but they might also want to avoid any unstabilising effects of the EEA deposit guarantee being called into question.
Everybody knows that it stinks this IMF loan. Why would they (as everybody knows) connect a loan to a dispute three countries have. By forcing Iceland to sign an agreement their negotiation postion is even weaker. Iceland took a big hit Octobr 2008, but the kicking after hurts more.
A peacefull civil war can solve this case. The new state will have no responsibilities for the old. Then you put your midle finger up to the UK and Holland. Some other complications might come up but that are problems for later, better then selling yourself for life.
There has been no hiding of the publicly stated position of the IMF and the rest that everything hinged on the Ice Save deal.
Icelanders and loans,
Loans have now become part of the genetic code.
We can adjust that Monty Python Spam sketch to
‘Loans loans loans loans’
Loans! Lovely loans! Lovely loans!
In spite of the fact that the collapse of IceSave meant many individuals and charities in the UK were badly hit, many British people were dismayed that the British government used anti-terrorist laws to freeze the bank’s assets. We are also angered at the reluctance of the banks and bankers across the world to clean up and regulate. While tax payers have picked up the mess, the bankers are now once again handing themselves out big bonuses. Iceland needs time to sort out this mess. Iceland and England are old friends. I don’t know if the IMF are offering sensible solutions.
sylvia on merseyside
Is anyone listening to the fool talking in behave of IMF on Kastljós?
>they can simply say that the review was done but Iceland didn’t meet the requirements
They don’t even need to do that. They can just do what they’ve done before when a likely agreement has been delayed:
(a) It was only pencilled in, or
(b) The review has been completed but the board now needs to vote on it.
“Look we decided on the review long before the Aldingi accepted or not.”
This is a very swift move from IMF, they have anonced the review for the 28Th of October,(notice that they are anounceing it even without Aldingi having voyed on the new bill, why? very easy this way they can officially say that they are not linking the review to Icesave deal, so they can say that they are not beeing controlled by Uk/Dutch goverment, BUT if by the 28Th Alþingi has not voted or has rejected the bill, they can simply say that the review was done but Iceland didn’t meet the requirements to release the 2nd trench of the loan. Very simple with this strategy they remove any international critizism, about linking the review to Icesave.
“Look we decides on the review long befoire the Aldingi accepted or not:”
It’s not diarrhea when it’s called quantative easing.
:-)
But I’m not sure what is better – constipation or diarrhea (in financial terms)….
Icesave Laxative Relieves IMF Constipation
Any bets that that date will move if the Icelandic parliament doesn’t vote for the Icesave agreement?