The biggest banks in Iceland were considered a wonder few years ago because of their incredible growth rates. In 2008 they owed six times the country's total GDP. The global financial crisis disrupted the plans of further expansion and the banks found themselves unable to refinance the huge loans. It reflected on the Iceland economy greatly, making a national default a reality. The government took over the same heavily indebted banks, causing Icelandic interest rates to spike at 15.5% while national currency krona started losing value at a high rate. Protests in Iceland's capital Reykjavik, clashes with police, calls for the resignation of government officials became everyday occurance. New elections were eventually held and newly elect Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir set out a government's plan to rescue Iceland from the financial ruin. Read more on the Iceland economic crisis here. You can also watch a short documentary on the economic crisis and the events that followed.
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