For those who don’t know,  Icesave was an online bank launched in the UK by Landsbanki, Iceland’s oldest and most established banking institution, in October 2006. . .

. . . When Landsbanki collapsed in October, the Icelandic public was stunned to discover that Icesave was not a subsidiary of Landsbanki in the United Kingdom [as most of us had assumed] but rather a branch of the Icelandic mother company. This meant that the Icelandic Deposit Guarantee Fund was responsible for covering the minimum guaranteed amount in the British accounts – a colossal sum in view of the tiny size of the Icelandic nation . . .

. . . In an interview with now-defunct news magazine Kompás in October, Björgólfur Thor Björgólfsson, one of the owners of Landsbanki prior to its nationalization  . . . claimed that the British Financial Supervisory Authority had offered to fast-track the Icesave accounts into a British subsidiary the weekend before the Icelandic government nationalized the bank. Obviously this would have been hugely significant for us, the Icelandic people, as it would have meant that we were not saddled with massive debts that we did nothing to incur.  The Iceland Weather Report website - 03-Mar-09.

http://icelandweatherreport.com/2009/03/british-fsa-denies-claims-by-former-landsbanki-owner-about-icesave-accounts-whats-the-deal.html