Bridgnorth could get 90 per cent of Iceland cash returned
Monday 4th April 2011, 11:51AM BST.
Up to £900,000 of Bridgnorth taxpayers’ money invested in a collapsed Icelandic bank could be retrieved, council bosses said today.
Bridgnorth District Council invested £1 million in Landsbanki, which went into receivership in 2008.
But a recent judgement on the bank means council taxpayers in the UK, including Bridgnorth, could see as much as £400m retrieved.
Representatives from the Local Government Association (LGA) attended crucial court hearings in Reykjavik in February on the matter.
More than 100 local authorities – including Bridgnorth District Council and Powys County Council, which invested £4m – were left facing potential losses of millions following the collapse of the Icelandic banks.
Today Simon Alton, spokesman for Shropshire Council, which took over from Bridgnorth District Council when the county switched to unitary status, said: “Shropshire Council is hoping to recover 85 to 90 per cent of the £1m invested by Bridgnorth District Council.”
Powys County Council also today said it was hoping to get at least £3m back.
Councillor Tony Thomas, the Powys council’s board member responsible for finance, said: “It is excellent news that the judges in Iceland have heard the arguments on both sides and found in favour of UK local authorities and other UK wholesale depositors.
“This judgment means that UK local authorities’ claims have been recognised as deposits with priority status over other creditors’ claims and will be at the front of the queue when it comes to getting their money back following the collapse of the failed Icelandic banks.”
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