Árni M Mathiesen: Hello

Alistair Darling: Hello

ÁMM: This is Arni Mathiesen, Minister of Finance.

AD: Hello, we met a few months ago, weeks ago.

ÁMM: No, we actually never met. You met the Minister of Trade.

AD: Alright, sorry.

ÁMM: No problem.

AD: Thank you for taking the call. As you know we have a huge problem with Landsbanki, we have a branch here, which has got £4 billion worth of deposits and it has now been shut and I need to know exactly what you are doing in relation to it. Could you explain that to me?

ÁMM: Yes, this was explained in a letter we sent the night before last from the Trade Ministry. Since then we have set out a new legislation where we are prioritising the deposits and were we are giving the FME, the Icelandic Financial Services Authority, the authority to go into the banks, similar legislation to what you have in England and the Landsbanki is now under the control of the FME and they are in the process of working out how to do these things but I think this legislation will help in solving this problem.

AD: What about the depositors you’ve got who’ve got deposits in London branches?

ÁMM: We have the [deposit] insurance fund according to the directive and how that works is explained in this letter and the pledge of support from the Government to the fund.

AD: So the entitlements the people have, which I think is about £16,000, they will be paid that?

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