Askar Capital was an investment bank in Iceland (2007–2010) offering advisory services related to investments in alternative financial products. The bank was established at the beginning of 2007 after a series of mergers, building on its history from 1993 as a financial advisor. The specialities of Askar Capital were corporate finance, real estate investments and debt management. As an authorized Investment Bank, Askar Capital was regulated by the Financial Supervisory Authority, headquartered in Reykjavik. The bank was heavily affected by the

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of the major

Icelandic banks The following is a list of banks in Iceland. Contemporary banks Central * Central Bank of Iceland Commercial * Arion Bank (formerly known as ''New Kaupthing'') * Íslandsbanki (formerly known as ''New Glitnir'') * Landsbankinn (formerly ...

in October 2008. The company carried on but eventually filed for bankruptcy on July 14, 2010.

History

In 2007 Askar Capital, part of the

Milestone Nordic Financial Group A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway line, canal or boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks; or they can give their position on the route relative to so ...

, was granted a license to operate as an investment bank. The firm provided a range of complementary financial services in three units, Capital Markets, Real Estate Investment Advisory and

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, a wholly owned subsidiary of Askar Capital. Askar Capital was the only Icelandic bank to experience losses from

structured investment vehicles A structured investment vehicle (SIV) is a non-bank financial institution established to earn a credit spread between the longer-term assets held in its portfolio and the shorter-term liabilities it issues. They are simple credit spread lenders, ...

originating in the United States. Askar Capital filed for bankruptcy on July 14, 2010. The verdict by the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

that foreign currency denominated loans were illegal had serious repercussions for the assets of the bank. In May 2010, the assets were appraised at 23 billion ISK. After the verdict, the estimate was lowered to 9-13 billion ISK. As the net worth was negative at least 10 billion ISK and restructuring was uncertain, the board did not consider it had a legitimate basis to continue. On January 27, 2010, claims on the bank amounted to 41.5 billion ISK.41.5 Billion ISK (around 360 million USD) claims made against Askar (in Icelandic). Viðskiptablaðið, January 27, 2011.
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References

Banks of Iceland {{Iceland-company-stub