Iceland Will Lift Remaining Capital Controls in Place Since 2008 Crash -
By REUTERSMARCH 12, 2017
STOCKHOLM — Iceland’s finance ministry said on Sunday
that in the coming week it would lift the remaining capital controls that have been in place since the financial crisis in 2008, easing restrictions on households and businesses.
Iceland’s central bank said in a separate statement
that it had entered an agreement to purchase offshore assets for close to 90 billion Icelandic krona (about $836 million) at an exchange rate of 137.5 krona per euro.
The ministry said it had also adjusted regulations
and introduced special reserve requirements for new foreign currency inflows to prevent a repeat of “hot money” — a term referring to funds in search of short-term returns — destabilizing the financial system.
“The removal of the capital controls, which stabilized the currency
and economy during the country’s unprecedented financial crash, represents the completion of Iceland’s return to international financial markets,” the ministry said in a statement.
The central bank said that remaining offshore krona holders would be invited to sell
their assets to the central bank at the same exchange rate over the next two weeks.
