REYKJAVIK, Iceland:  As recently as last year, Iceland was considered an economic success story . . .

. . .Then, in the first week of October 2008, all went wrong. The three main Icelandic banks collapsed and the government took over their domestic branches. It is still unclear what will happen to their foreign operations.. . 

. .  . One or two of the Icelandic banks might have survived, though, if on Oct. 8 British Prime Minister Gordon Brown had not used the country's antiterrorist law to take over the assets and operations of two Icelandic banks in the U.K., Kaupthing and Landsbanki.  Wall Street Journal website - 17-Nov-08.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122695569056034695.html