Danske Bank on the Icelandic Economy

Lars Christensen, an economist at the Danske Bank sent out an email to the brokers at his bank on Friday in response to a story that ran in the Danish Extra Bladet. The story in the street paper Extra Bladet claimed that the Icelandic business world is built on money from the Russian mafia. Christensen in his email warns Danske Bank clients that the exchange rate of the Icelandic krona might fluctuate.

In the mail Christensen states that the problem with the Icelandic business environment is not that it is based on „dirty" money, the problem is the instability of the Icelandic economy.

He nevertheless also points out that when he was in Iceland the Russian millionaire Roman Abramovitsj was in Iceland and had a meeting with the president of Iceland. Christensen said in an interview with Frettabladid that his comment about Abramovitsj was not well thought out and that he wrote it as a joke. Abramovitsj was in Iceland on official visit as the governor of Chukotka in Russia. Christensen said he knew the purpose of Abramovitsj visit in Iceland although he did not mention it in his mail.

„What I wrote is true and accurate and I stand by it," says Christensen. „Danske Bank has warned before that the Icelandic economy is unstable, and that has not changed," he said.

„Yesterday I sent out a new email stressing my view that the Extra Bladet story will have no effect on the Icelandic Market and I ask Danske Bank brokers to keep that in mind," says Christensen.