Geneva branch of Icelandic bank in meltdown
The Geneva office of Iceland's troubled Kaupthing Bank, which had been taken over by Swiss regulators, will begin reimbursing deposits to some 1,700 accountholders.
Control of Switzerland’s only branch of the financial institution, whose parent company has been taken over by Icelandic financial regulators, was on October 9 handed to commissioners appointed by the Federal Banking Commission.
It holds around SFr35 million ($30.89 million) in deposits.
In a statement on its website, Kaupthing said it would begin handing out amounts of up to SFr5,000 within the next days and returning insured deposits of up to SFr30,000 within the coming weeks.
It said that repayment of deposits over SFr30,000 would depend on the situation in Iceland and on the outcome of proceedings in Luxembourg, the seat of the Swiss branch.
Few customers hold more than SFr30,000 – the insurable limit in Switzerland – with the bank, according to the Federal Banking Commission.
Kaupthing Bank Luxembourg entered the Swiss market last July and had attracted customers with high interest rates on savings accounts.
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