Love letters from Iceland: accountability of the Eurosystem
Investigation of Iceland's meltdown has revealed dodgy behaviours ranging from neglect to criminal fraud. This column describes how Icelandic banks issued “love letters” to each other – swapping their debt securities and using the other bank’s debt as collateral. This ruse ensnared not just the...
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| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | unknown |
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Centre for Economic Policy Research
2010
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/9667/ http://www.voxeu.org/article/love-letters-iceland-accountability-eurosystem |
| Summary: | Investigation of Iceland's meltdown has revealed dodgy behaviours ranging from neglect to criminal fraud. This column describes how Icelandic banks issued “love letters” to each other – swapping their debt securities and using the other bank’s debt as collateral. This ruse ensnared not just the Icelandic Central Bank, but also the ECB – a fact that has only recently come to light. The ECB's lack of transparency on this is a serious problem. |
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