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Iceland Bails Out Glitnir With EU600 Million Package (Update4)
By Christian Wienberg and Joyce Moullakis
Sept. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Glitnir Bank hf, the 104-year-old Icelandic bank, will be taken over by the government after its short-term funding dried up, making it the fourth European lender to be bailed out in the past 24 hours.
Iceland's government will pay 600 million euros ($859 million) in return for a 75 percent stake, the Reykjavik-based bank said in a statement today. The agreement will cut the value of existing shareholders' stakes by 88 percent, analysts said.
``If a bank can't finance itself during a crisis, it won't survive,'' central bank governor David Oddsson told reporters in Reykjavik today. ``It's as simple as that.''
Glitnir's bailout today follows those of Fortis in Belgium, Bradford & Bingley Plc in Britain and Hypo Real Estate Holding AG. Iceland's banks, which rely on money markets for funding, have been among the hardest-hit in Europe as the subprime crisis prompted investors to shun all but the safest assets. The cost of borrowing in euros for three months, the so-called euro interbank offered rate, soared to a record today.
Glitnir, which has dropped 28 percent this year, was suspended in Reykjavik trading today. Its larger competitors declined. Landsbanki Islands hf, the second-biggest bank, fell 6.7 percent to 21.50 kronur as of 3:32 p.m. in Reykjavik trading. Kaupthing Bank hf, the No. 1, dropped 3.6 percent to 723 kronur.
`Death Spiral'
``Despite the fact that the other two large Icelandic banks are stronger in their liquidity profiles, the risk is the market decides Landsbanki and Kaupthing are in similar trouble,'' Bill Blain, who produces a daily market report for bond broker KNG Securities LLP in London, said today in an interview. ``If they both tumble into a liquidity death-spiral it may precipitate a deeper Iceland crisis which the government may struggle to solve.''
The cost of insuring against a default by Iceland's government rose to a record. Credit-default swaps on Iceland's debt climbed 172 basis points to 567, according to CMA Datavision prices at 4 p.m. in London. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point. The contracts were trading at 200 basis points in May, CMA data show.
The Icelandic krona also fell the most since March against the dollar, dropping 5.57, or 5.9 percent, to 100.04 kronur. The krona has lost 38 percent against the dollar this year.
``The events unfolding in international financial markets in the past two weeks have had unforeseen consequences, drastically changing the conditions of Glitnir's short-term funding,'' Glitnir said in today's statement. ``We have seen similar things happen in the countries around us.''
Debt Repayments
More than half of Glitnir's debt is due to be repaid in the next three years, according to Bloomberg data. The bank's debt commitments stand at almost $22 billion. Glitnir had a deposit-to-loan ratio of about 30 percent, the lowest among Iceland's biggest banks. Landsbanki said had a ratio of 63 percent at the end of the first half.
``This is a banking model that will be sustainable in the aftermath of the turmoil now playing out in world financial markets,'' Landsbanki said in a statement today. ``Liquidity remains sound.'' The bank had 8 billion euros of liquid assets at the end of September.
Kaupthing spokesman Jonas Sigurgeirsson didn't immediately return a call seeking comment.
Glitnir Chief Executive Officer Larus Welding will stay in charge of the bank. Glitnir's customers, bond-holders and employees will not be affected, and the strategy won't change, the company said in today's statement.
The bank's short-term funding position deteriorated after markets were roiled by the collapse of U.S. broker Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and the bailout of American International Group Inc, Welding told analysts on a call today.
``It was a timing mismatch,'' Welding said. The bank said although loan impairments will increase in the next couple of quarters, it was in a ``good position'' to meet its debt obligations in the future.
Glitnir posted a 20 percent drop in second-quarter profit in August as bad loans increased and the value of equities in the company's trading portfolio declined. Writedowns for bad loans surged to 4.49 billion kronur.
The bailout agreement will value Glitnir at about 800 million euros, analysts at Kaupthing said in a note to clients today.
Byr Savings
``The purpose of this action is to enhance stability within the financial system,'' the office of Iceland Prime Minister Geir Haarde said today in a statement. ``The government does not plan to hold its share in the bank for an extended period.''
The rescue comes after Glitnir said it was in talks with Byr Savings Bank about a possible merger of the two Icelandic companies. Kaupthing Bank and Icelandic savings bank Sparisjodur Reykjavikur Og Nagrennis have also said they plan to merge.
In August, Iceland's four biggest banks passed a series of tests suggesting they could withstand simultaneous shocks on their capital ratios, the country's regulator said at the time. Kaupthing, Landsbanki, Glitnir and Straumur-Burdaras hf would all continue to have capital ratios above the minimum requirement of 8 percent if they suffered simultaneous and significant losses on shares, bonds, currencies and impaired loans, according to Reykjavik-based FME.
To contact the reporters on this story: Joyce Moullakis in London at jmoullakis@bloomberg.net; Christian Wienberg in Copenhagen at cwienberg@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: September 29, 2008 11:46 EDT