Press release from Arion Banki: From yesterday, 21 November 2009, New Kaupthing Bank changed its name to Arion banki. The new name signals a new direction and new values. Following the restructuring of the bank in the recent economic turmoil at home and abroad, the bank is shifting its focus in response to the demands for change made by its customers and employees. A new name will also help eliminate any confusion among the public and the bank’s business partners in Iceland and abroad.
The bank is guided by the values of professionalism, ambition, concern for others and loyalty, with the customer in the foreground at all times. The new name comes from Greek mythology and symbolizes perseverance, cooperation and new beginnings. The bank held a competition among its employees to find a new name and Arion was selected from over three hundred entries.
Finnur Sveinbjörnsson, CEO of Arion, says that the time was right to adopt a new name. “A new name, a new direction and new values signal a fresh start for the bank. In a way we are making a break with the past and we look forward to tackling the challenges that await in society with vigour. Our goal is to develop a strong, trustworthy bank which works with and for the people of Iceland.”
In the current climate the bank cannot afford to be wasteful, and therefore the cost of adopting a new name will be kept to a minimum. The branches will be given a new look in the next few weeks, and to avoid unnecessary costs marketing material will be renewed as old supplies are used up.
Just the weirdest decision ever.
In the long run it would have been better to stick with the KAUPTHING brand, sort out the problems and rebuild slowly.
In time, as with other banks that have run into difficulties: RBS, Lloyds etc, the name would be rebuilt and the bank could then reflect on its long established history. This way the Kaupthing Brand will remain forever a black mark on the history of Icelandic banking….
Of course they want to change the name in order to disassociate themselves with the incompetence, fraud and negligence that seems to have been rife in the Icelandic banking system. But their ‘break from the past’ involves conveniently forgetting about their stranded international investors, whom they abandoned through cosy creation of a ‘New’ entity for domestic customers leaving all the international creditors and obligations in the old, defunct one. This is only possible because ICELANDIC LAWS allowed it to be. I believe a more appropriate acronym and mantra for Arion (and Iceland) could be :
Arion : “Avoiding Responsibilities Is Our Nature”
… Iceland should not be allowed to operate any international banking operations until they have sorted out the mess they created. It may not fall to Iceland to provide money to directly compensate international depositors such as those in KSFIOM but they should surely be at the centre of an effort to see justice done and to see compensation administered. To me it seems all they want to do is walk away from their debacle and pretend everything has changed. Try telling that to all those who’s savings just disappeared in Oct 2008 and have never been returned.
Shame on Iceland. Grow up and sort it out.
Bromley – The alternative to bankruptcy is debt slavery! I suspect that the terms and conditions of personal bankruptcy are tougher in Iceland than America…
Can a person declare bankruptcy in Iceland? i.e. they lose everything of value that they own now, but the slate is wiped clean and they can start again.
I only ask because it was implied on another site that it might not be as easy as that. Not that being declared bankrupt is ever easy, but you get my meaning.
Also, can a bankrupt be a director of a company?
Anyone else wondering if the similarity between Arion and Carrion is intentional?
“Axel, you are very wrong to think Íslandsbanki is actually writing off 25% of the loans. What it offers is 25% reduction of the principle, BUT! accompanied with rise in the interest rates. 3-4 times higher compared to the current interest rate! So one can well end up paying more at the end of the month if they choose to switch to non-CPI linked mortgage in ISK. Thank you for this kind of help, but no thank you!”
There is always a catch, i should have known this is just another attempt to rip people off,
Íslandsbanki is now owned by foreign investors,
there is very little difference between p**p and sh*t.
“The vast majority of Icelandic mortgage holders do not have foreign currency loans, some thing like 90%. the number of home owners who lose their home is likely to relatively small. The majority of car loans are foreign currency however; better to lose a car rather than a home…”
The number is higher than that, i think its closer to 20%, some 600 homes are in a “frozen auction process”, it ends March 1st, most likely 600 families will loose their homes and be bankrupt, this is only the begining,
you are right about the car loans, but in Iceland the creditor has all the right on his side, so if you cant pay off your car loan he will take your, lets say 2 mil kr car, sell it to himself for 500k and the 2 mil loan who can be 4.5 mil today drops to 4 mil, then he takes your house, so everything you own and future earnings are the guarantee for the car loan, even thoug the car is the only collateral on the car loan, this is how things work in Niceland.
I have decided what i want for Christmas,
a nice blood splattered heads-rolling revolution where fires and molotov coctails replace the traditional lighting and a heavy razor sharp sword that can cut a fat banker in half in one blow both verticaly and horizontaly.
The vast majority of Icelandic mortgage holders do not have foreign currency loans, some thing like 90%. the number of home owners who lose their home is likely to relatively small. The majority of car loans are foreign currency however; better to lose a car rather than a home…
“I would like to deposit in an Icelandic Bank that is guided by the values of professionalism, ambition, concern for others and loyalty, with the customer in the foreground at all times.”
“I would like to deposit in an Icelandic Bank that is guided by the values of professionalism, ambition, concern for others and loyalty, with the customer in the foreground at all times.”
“I would like to deposit in an Icelandic Bank that is guided by the values of professionalism, ambition, concern for others and loyalty, with the customer in the foreground at all times.”
Nope – it’s not working. How many times should you repeat the phrase?
Axel, you are very wrong to think Íslandsbanki is actually writing off 25% of the loans. What it offers is 25% reduction of the principle, BUT! accompanied with rise in the interest rates. 3-4 times higher compared to the current interest rate! So one can well end up paying more at the end of the month if they choose to switch to non-CPI linked mortgage in ISK. Thank you for this kind of help, but no thank you!
Don’t hold it duke.
Arion != Kaupthing.
Arion = New Kaupthing.
Assuming that the emergency law holds and that this old/new distinction is retained, your (or PwC’s) dealings will be with Kaupthing hf. Arion is important, because the larger the bond/other assets that they give to K.hf, the more money K.hf has to dish out to its creditors. One of which is likely to be the KSFIOM guarantee.
But that’s it.
@Jim
At least they’re honest :) . “You can’t say we didn’t warn you!”
What about depositors in the Isle of Man who are still waiting for the 100% Guarantee to be honoured on their deposits, will that mean that Arion Banki will honour that guarantee?
We wait with baited breath.
New name, same old rusli
“The bank is guided by the values of professionalism, ambition, concern for others and loyalty, with the customer in the foreground at all times”
Shouldn’t security and stability (rather than ambition) have been on that list…
The Kriminal Bank of Iceland is the only bank who has not offered any kind of help to its customers,
Íslandsbanki(Glitnir) offers 23% write off for the people who have loans in foreign currency if they refinance the loan with ÍB, those loans have gone up ca 100-150%, most in Cfr/Jen, Landsbanki has offered a similar deal, this is obviously useless but at least something, all 3 banks are now collecting property like realestate and companys into “investment companys” LB has 3, KB has 3 and ÍB has 5, when they have finished this change of ovnership the investment companys will be privatized into the hands of the people who are key players in the biggest scam in world history,
nothing has changed, this was always going to happen, the pots and pans revolution only slowed down the process.