2008-11-26 :: bloomberg.com :: Icelandic bank files for U.S. bankruptcy protection

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/11/26/business/26icebank.php

Icelandic bank files for U.S. bankruptcy protection

Published: November 26, 2008

WILMINGTON, Delaware: Glitnir Banki, the 104-year-old Icelandic bank taken over by the country's financial regulators, sought bankruptcy protection from its U.S. creditors.

The company, based in Reykjavik listed both debt and assets of more than $1 billion in Chapter 15 documents filed Wednesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York.

Glitnir's assets in the United States are bank accounts and loans made to U.S. companies, according to court documents. Since 2005, the bank has issued about 22 short- and long- term notes for more than $7 billion in the country, according to court papers.

Iceland's government seized control of Glitnir, Landsbanki Islands hf and Kaupthing Bank hf, the nation's three biggest banks, in October, after they were unable to secure short-term funding. The three banks together amassed debt of $61 billion, equivalent to about 12 times the size of the economy, according to Bloomberg data.