the richest man in atherstone

Last Tuesday, I awoke to the news that Icelandic bank, Landsbanki, had be nationalised, it was in the hands of the receivers and was expected to go into liquidation. For me, this was a disaster! I'd put a sizeable chunk of my cash in my IceSave account - IceSave being a UK subsidiary of Landsbanki. And, what's more, IceSave had stopped depositors making withdrawals.

At first I was concerned, but I knew that I could claim my money back from the Icelandic financial services compensation scheme so I thought I may lose a little interest but at least my money's safe. Checking up with the news, I was gutted to find out that the Icelandic economy was in turmoil and the Icelandic Prime Minister had said it would take care of domestic depositors but this guarantee did not extend to International customers.

My heart dropped! I was worried, anxious and felt like crying - as a grown man, being close to tears is hard for me to admit but that is exactly how I felt. My hard-earned savings were lost and there was nothing I could do about it. Fair enough if I had put my money in shares or other riskier investment vehicles - that would be a bitter pill but manageable - but this was a savings account with a regulated financial institution. On top of the sadness and anxiety, I also felt angry and cheated and helpless.

Further investigation revealed that the Icelandic compensation scheme did not have enough reserves to fulfil it's obligations. I thought about taking legal action against the Icelandic authorities but what would be the point of suing an organisation with no money? I began to wish that maybe I should have been more diligent or even just spent the money or put on my mortgage. At least the cash would have been put to good use.

Fortunately, I was extremely busy at work so it helped to take my mind off it. When I got home and told my wife, she was extremely supportive (as always). I was convinced our money was gone and couldn't stop blaming myself but she was a tower of strength and made me feel a bit better about it - and for that I am extremely grateful and consider myself very lucky.

The only ray of light was rumours in the news that the British Financial Services Authority (FSA) would step in to help. There was a chance that they would compensate savers up to the £50'000 covered by their compensation scheme. Although this would have helped me, I felt gutted for those that had deposited more than this figure in their IceSave accounts.

That night, I was restless with worry and didn't sleep very well.

First thing the next day I checked the news but there was no update about IceSave accounts, however there was a press conference scheduled by the government to address the issue.

A little later, I checked the news again and read that the chancellor had guaranteed that no IceSave Saver would lose their deposits. I cannot describe to you the relief I felt. A cliché, I know, but it felt like a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders. If Alistair Darling had been in the room I would have given him a great big kiss! I was almost brought to tears again!

Since last Wednesday, I've had chance to reflect upon the situation and think about what lessons I could learn from the experience. Despite Landsbanki having an excellent credit rating up until it went bust, I feel that the 'writing was on wall', as it were, with regards the Icelandic economy. Unfortunately, the warning signs were very well hidden and perhaps impossible to see without thorough research. I think that my due diligence was lacking and spending more time and effort on it could have avoided the situation. A number of people started to withdraw their cash the week before, whilst I was completely oblivious to the situation. These people, I applaud and aspire to be like them.

A week on from this crisis and IceSave depositors are no closer to finding out when they will get their money back or how they go about claiming it. The government have frozen Icelandic assets in the UK and are in discussions with the Nordic "powers-that-be".

I am extremely pleased with the British government for digging me out of this hole and assuring me I will get my savings back. Now I am just hoping for a speedy announcement from them telling me what I need to do next so that I can get the wheels in motion for a quick recovery of my money.

I am worried sick and feel like crying.

IceSave's parent company, Landsbanki, have gone under the control of the Icelandic government and the security of UK savings accounts remains unclear. I have two accounts with IceSave.

I am providing updates on the situation over on my IceSave Review page.

I need to take a lot of deep breaths to stop me from cracking!

Arkad