Iceland shows the world what to do. Nationalize the banks, arrest the bankers, tell the bond holders to shove it. And they are recovering.
While Greece and Europe continue sinking ever deeper into the colonial quicksand of Pax Goldmania, Iceland, which blew up, pushed its banks into bankruptcy, and arrested its corrupt bankers, is well on its way to being the world’s only normal country.
I don’t agree the bondholders should have been ignored, but I agree that the bankers should be arrested for their crimes against citizens. If the only way to stop the greed is for banks to become nationalized, then so be it. It shouldn’t matter who owns the bank, it should matter what the banks do. Banks should be responsible to the people they serve and not just people who invest.
Many of the loans made by Iceland banksters were garbage and they knew it. Ditto for Europeans buying the bonds. When those owing money on bonds can’t pay, the general approach is the bondholder takes a haircut. This is part of the assumed risk. But the European bondholders demanded to be paid in full so Iceland defaulted and they haven’t gotten a penny. Good.
I still don’t think it’s fair. If a government is going to take over an asset, then they need to take on the debt as well. Imagine if when Freddy Mac and Fanny Mae was taken over by the US government that every loan was forgiven and investors were told to take a hike. That’s essentially what Iceland did, except the debts to the banks were not forgiven. Yeah, the Iceland government took over the banks and all their assets and started with a clean slate of no debt to others, but others owing it debt. It’s one thing if a bank fails and shuts it’s doors and investors are left hanging, but when another entity takes over they should not be allowed to clean the slate and keep all the assets. Granted that it’s an investment and not all investments make money and some take losses, but to give the bond holders nothing on the dollar is highway robbery.
The is what Iceland avoided, and may actually have done the bondholders a favor, in doing so.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/subordination-101-walkthru-sovereign-bond-markets-post-greek-default-world