Íslandsbanki is an

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

with roots tracing back to 1875, formerly being the domestic part of Glitnir banki hf., but on 15 October 2008 being split from the bankrupt Glitnir and reestablished into a new independent bank. The sole operations of the bank is to manage a branch network in Iceland, with a 20%-40% market share across all domestic franchise areas. As of 2022, the bank has 12 branches around Iceland.

First Íslandsbanki

Íslandsbanki was originally created in 1990 through the merger of Alþýðubanki (Union Bank), Verzlunarbanki (Bank of Commerce) and Iðnaðarbanki (Industrial Bank). After its 2000 merger with FBA Icelandic Investment Bank, the bank was briefly renamed Íslandsbanki-FBA, but "FBA" was dropped from the name in 2002. In 2006, the bank again rebranded itself as

Glitnir Forseti (Old Norse "the presiding one", "president" in modern Icelandic and Faroese) is the god of justice and reconciliation in Norse mythology. He is generally identified with Fosite, a god of the Frisians. Name Grimm took ''Forseti'', "''pr ...

Second Íslandsbanki

The bank was re-established on 15 October 2008 under the name Nýi Glitnir ("New Glitnir") to take over the Icelandic operations of Glitnir banki hf., after the 2008-2011 Icelandic financial crisis. The name was changed back to Íslandsbanki on 20 February 2009. The name

was deemed to be unreliable after the financial collapse, and a new logo was designed based on the old Glitnir and Íslandsbanki logos. Íslandsbanki was wholly owned by the Icelandic State Treasury from 2008 until 2021. By the end of 2017, the bank had 861 full-time employees and a total amount of assets worth ISK 1.036 trillion, and its operations were divided into six business segments: ''Retail Banking, Corporate Banking, Markets, Wealth Management, Treasury and Subsidiaries & Equity Investments''. The Bank has a 20–40% market share across all domestic franchise areas, and operates an efficient branch network in Iceland. The directors, executives, and auditors of four Icelandic banks:

Kaupthing Bank Kaupthing Bank ( is, Kaupþing banki; ) was a major international Icelandic bank, headquartered in Reykjavík, Iceland. It was taken over by the Icelandic government during the 2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis and the domestic Icelandic ...

Landsbanki Landsbanki (literally "national bank"), also commonly known as Landsbankinn (literally "the national bank") which is now the name of the current rebuilt bank (here called "New Landsbanki"), was one of the largest Icelandic commercial banks that f ...

, Glitnir/Íslandsbanki, and the

Central Bank of Iceland The Central Bank of Iceland ( is, Seðlabanki Íslands) is the central bank or reserve bank of Iceland. It has served in this capacity since 1961, when it was created by an act of the Alþingi out of the central banking department of Landsbank ...

, were awarded the satirical

Ig Nobel Prize The Ig Nobel Prize ( ) is a satiric prize awarded annually since 1991 to celebrate ten unusual or trivial achievements in scientific research. Its aim is to "honor achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think." The name of ...

in Economics in 2009 for demonstrating that tiny banks can be rapidly transformed into huge banks, and vice versa and for demonstrating that similar things can be done to an entire national economy. The current

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

is Birna Einarsdóttir.

Privatisation

In 2021, the Icelandic Government, in line with its plan, decided to begin the sell-off of Íslandsbanki in stages. In 2021, the government sold a 35% share in Íslandsbanki, with a further 22.5% being sold in March 2022. This brings the Icelandic State Treasury's share in the bank at 42.5% as of 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Islandsbanki Banks of Iceland Companies based in Reykjavík Icelandic brands