Right up to days before Landsbanki Guernsey collapsed in October 2008 the Guernsey Financial Services Commission had been reassuring concerned Landsbanki Guernsey savers enquiring by telephone that they need not fear for their savings because a 100% Parental Guarantee was in place. Indeed the Parental Guarantee had long been Guernsey's primary marketing tool to attract retail deposits to bolster its finance centre. Now that Landsbanki's Winding Up Board in Reykjavik has made abundantly clear that it is refusing to recognise any sort of guarantee, the GFSC appears to have changed its tune: it is telling enquirers that a Parental Guarantee was never a requirement and that - even if one were in place - it would not be legally binding. The question that springs to mind is: could savers be forgiven for thinking that the GFSC is being disingenuous? . . .

Now they are informing depositors who have lost life's savings that they should have read this obscure and very technical Consultation Paper and, by implication, should have moved their savings elsewhere. It was their own fault. Is the GFSC being disingenuous? What do you think?  12-Mar-10.

http://markashbey.newsvine.com/_news/2010/03/12/4011476-guernsey-financial-services-commission-being-disingenuous

The Guernsey financial regulator has told consumers it is up to them to read banks' financial accounts to check if it is safe to deposit their savings.

Offshore savers are financially sophisticated and should be expected to study the finances of the island's banks to see it they are safe, according to the Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC). The warning comes after the collapse of Landsbanki Guernsey in October 2008, which streamed money backed to its parent onshore bank leaving its offshore savers out of pocket. . .

The advice from the GFSC has been ridiculed by one offshore saver. ‘It begs the rather obvious question: what on earth is the regulator for, if they're telling the public ‘figure it out for yourself.'  12-Mar-10.

http://www.citywire.co.uk/adviser/-/news/regulation-training-and-competence/content.aspx?ID=387193

LANDSBANKI Guernsey depositors are the worst-affected by the Icelandic financial crash, and Iceland may now never re-compensate [sic] the UK, it has been claimed.

Hundreds of thousands of Iceland residents have joined an insurrection proposing that the UK and Netherlands, which lent the country the money to bail out foreign savers when Landsbanki collapsed in October 2008, should not be recompensed.

Over the past year they have become increasingly unhappy about bearing this cost saying it will make their already huge debt impossible.

An article in the Sunday Telegraph business section yesterday said that of all those affected, one group of Channel Islanders was hit hardest.

‘But the worst affected people – even more so than Icelandic and British taxpayers – are the 800 savers in Landsbanki Guernsey who lost access to their entire life savings,’ said business journalist Rowena Mason.

‘They were not covered by the UK Government’s bail-out,’ she added. 08-Mar-10.

http://www.thisisguernsey.com/2010/03/08/landsbanki-guernsey-savers-are-the-worst-off-of-the-lot/

[See referenced Telegraph article by Rowena Mason HERE.

DEPOSITORS in a Guernsey bank that went bust are angry that a guarantee from its Icelandic parent now appears not to be worth the paper it was written on.

Earlier this week the winding up board for Landsbanki’s affairs in Iceland rejected depositors’ claims under the Guernsey bank’s parental guarantee. And the people who banked at Landsbanki Guernsey are now accusing the Guernsey Financial Services Commission of not doing its job properly.

A group representing the Jesey and Guernsey depositors said that the regulator allowed the bank to advertise a parental guarantee to potential customers that has not now been honoured. They also say that recent assurances given by Guernsey Chief Minister Lyndon Trott, that depositors would be treated fairly by the winding up board, were worthless.

The group is calling for an independent public inquiry to investigate what went wrong and to hold people to account.

About 100 Jersey depositors are still owed about £2 million after the bank failed in October 2008. Over a period of time, they have been repaid chunks of their savings and have so far got back about two thirds. 20-Feb-10.

http://www.thisisjersey.com/2010/02/20/depositors-seek-landsbanki-i

Depositors with the failed Guernsey bank Landsbanki have suffered a setback to their campaign to get their money back.

The bank went into administration in 2008 following the collapse of its parent in Iceland.

Some of the Guernsey depositors' cash had been sent to the parent bank and efforts are underway to recover it. But the depositors have now been told they're among creditors classed as a "low priority" by the parent bank.

Landsbanki Iceland is also refusing to recognise the guarantee it offered for savings with Landsbanki Guernsey. 15-Feb-10.

http://www.channelonline.tv/channelonline_guernseynews/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=483863

* [For the avoidance of doubt LG depositors' claims were arbitrarily rejected 'in every respect' and given no 'priority' at all.]

DEPUTIES have again been asked by the Landsbanki Guernsey Depositors' Action Group to do more to get their money back.

An email sent to States members at the weekend claimed the Assembly had done nothing to help the 1,600 depositors, 600 of whom are Guernsey taxpayers.

LGDAG chairman Neil Dickens said that even after the anticipated distribution this month, depositors would still be waiting for one third of their savings back, not counting lost interest and income.

'The administrators have offered a final return of possibly 85 to 91%, but this could take some years to materialise - 100% will not be attained without Guernsey government intervention.'

'Proof has been produced to all of you that there was a clear lack of due diligence by the GFSC, a matter we are strongly recommending you seriously review,' he told the deputies.

Mr Dickens said a new documentary had been produced by Guernsey savers about the hardships they had endured. It has been posted on YouTube.  Article from print-copy of Guernsey Press - 11-Jan-10.

View Landsbanki Guernsey's YouTube Video.

LANDSBANKI Guernsey depositors will get more of their savings back in the new year, the bank's administrators have confirmed.

The administrators now also believe that savers might get more than 90% of their money back – after having previously said it would require 'external intervention' to recover that much.  18-Dec-09

http://www.thisisguernsey.com/2009/12/18/landsbanki-savers-could-get-more-than-90-back/

The joint administrators of the Guernsey branch of the failed Icelandic bank Landsbanki said a third distribution to creditors of between 11 and 12.5p in the pound will take place in January.

They also updated their estimate for the ultimate recovery for creditors to be between 85 and 91p.

Deloitte said the increase reflected "the largely successful realisation of assets in 2009 driven, in part, by better-than-feared market conditions, and the intense efforts of the administration team".

It added that these estimated returns were still subject to "a wide range of factors primarily connected to the UK residential property market, many of which are outside of the joint administrators control, which may result in the actual return being lower or higher than this range".   International Adviser, 17-Dec-09

http://www.international-adviser.com/lwm/article/1019

Also: Deloitte to recover 90% for Landsbanki creditors, Accountancy Age, 18-Dec-09

http://www.accountancyage.com/accountancyage/news/2255271/deloitte-administrators-set

The administrators of Landsbanki Guernsey have said they intend a third distribution to creditors of between 11p and 12.5p in the pound in January.

The Joint Administrators said the ultimate recovery for creditors is estimated to be between 85p and 91p in the pound.

They also announced an extension to the administration of the bank until 6 January 2011.  17-Dec-09

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/guernsey/8418272.stm

LANDSBANKI GUERNSEY depositors who lost their money when the bank collapsed have called for an independent public inquiry.

Just over a year on, the Landsbanki Guernsey Depositors’ Action Group has written to deputies asking for support in establishing a panel to review what was done before, during and after the Icelandic bank fell. . . .

‘There have been instances that have cropped up as a result of information that has become available from elsewhere that indicates the GFSC had not been exercising due diligence in conducting its inquiry.’

The letter, written by Matthew Dorman, described what was needed as ‘a public inquiry ensuring full disclosure, not only of actions prior to Landsbanki Guernsey being put into liquidation but also thereafter’.  20-Oct-09.

http://www.thisisguernsey.com/2009/10/20/landsbanki-depositors-want-public-inquiry-into-banks-collapse/