31 August 2016

Temporary authorisation for withdrawals

Central Bank of Iceland

According to Article 9 of the Act on the Treatment of Króna-Denominated Assets Subject to Special Restrictions, no. 37/2016, owners of offshore króna assets as these are defined in the Act are granted temporary permission to withdraw, on a voluntary basis, part or all of the funds from accounts subject to special restrictions in order to use the funds for foreign exchange transactions with the Central Bank of Iceland at a special reference exchange rate. The authorisation remains in effect until 1 November 2016. The reference exchange rate for these transactions is 220 krónur per euro, pursuant to Article 2, Item 10 of the Act.

Requests for transactions must be received by the Central Bank no later than at the end of the day on 1 November 2016 and must be made through the intermediation of commercial banks and securities depositories that hold deposit accounts with the Central Bank.

A more detailed description of the execution of the transactions can be found in the Central Bank’s terms governing the temporary authorisation for foreign exchange transactions with the Bank, which state, among other things, that the Bank reserves the right to take up to 10 business days to settle transactions proceeding from such requests.

The following entities may act as intermediaries for the foreign exchange transactions:

Arion Bank hf.
Clearstream Banking S.A.
Euroclear Bank S.A./N.V.
Íslandsbanki hf.
Kvika banki hf.
Landsbankinn hf.

Terms

Requirements vis-à-vis intermediaries in connection with money laundering
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