Sigrún Davíðsdóttir's Icelog

Today, the Reykjavik County Court has confirmed in a ruling that Icesave deposits are priority claims in the Landsbanki. The case was brought on by others who have general claims on Landsbanki and who refused to acknowledge the priority status of Icesave depositors. The wider consequence is that the emergency measure that made deposits a priority claim in the Icelandic banks has now been legally acknowledged.

The ruling means that the Court supports the position of the Landsbanki Wind-up Board and consequently, the priority status of claims in Landsbanki by the UK deposit guarantee fund and the Dutch Central Bank. This is the second ruling of the County Court related to the emergency measures.

The UK claims in Landsbanki amount to ISK823bn (now ca €500m) and the Dutch claims total ISK276bn (€167m). The ruling will be no doubt be appealed to the Supreme Court. Until its final ruling, Landsbanki can’t start to pay out claims. It also means that any Icesave payments to the UK and the Netherlands has to wait until the Supreme Court rules on the priority status.

Follow me on Twitter for running updates.