He looks a lot less unhappy than the situation perhaps warrants: He has to purchase his vehicles in euros from Germany, and his costs are spiraling out of control. "The first things to stop are home construction and car sales," says CEO Knutur Hauksson. Sales have recently fallen by 60 percent. The showroom of Hekla, Reykjavic's largest car dealer, is filled with shining VW and Audi sedans. "It's the same with any rush." But now everyone is stuck footing the bill for the bailout. "In the end, the global players in banking succumbed to an uncontrollable addiction to gambling," he says. When the IT bubble burst, he lost everything, "including my home." He had to start over again and focused entirely on low-risk equity stakes. He studied industrial engineering and, for years, was also involved in the financial markets, freely investing venture capital in hi-tech firms and telecommunications companies. There were no dreams left for them to fulfil here," he says. "The island was too small for them back then, too. The sky seemed the limit after the country's banks were privatized just 10 years ago.įor consultant Pallsson, 54, it was a bit like when the Vikings set off 1,000 years ago from Iceland to conquer the world and plunder its riches. Iceland's economic miracle was wrecked by a new generation of financial market jugglers who took advantage of the new spirit of optimism in the country's burgeoning financial center. "Maybe we'll have to go back home and have our child in Poland." "I have no idea how we are supposed to go on," says Najdek. The bank has refused to wire money to Ilona's accounts back in Poland, and at the moment, the maximum she can withdraw is €360, not a cent more. Ilona is in her late stages of pregnancy and the couple say they "no longer have enough money to pay their bills."
For a year, they deposited all of their money at the bank, but now they need it. The young Polish couple moved to Iceland just a few years ago. They wanted to exchange the 500,000 krona they have saved up into euros, despite the horrendous exchange rate. His wife, Ilona Najdek, had just returned from the bank teller counter without any luck. "We just have no idea what's going to happen," says Baastyan Bajer, 29. The company is expected to announce the loss of 200 jobs. Construction and home improvement store Husasmidjan - one of Iceland's top 30 companies with its annual sales of €220 million - will have little choice but to "cut costs," says CEO Stein Logi Björnsson. Other companies are also starting to fire staff. Landsbanki wants to sack 500 of its 1,500 workers, Glitner 400 and Kaupthing as many as 1,000. On top of all that, the Icelanders now have to swallow the bitter pill of accepting billions in loans from Russia. People are losing their jobs, fear is spreading as well as depression. Interest rates on loans have risen to a dramatic 15 percent.
Meanwhile, the Icelandic krona is in freefall and nobody can say what its actual exchange rate is. SPIEGEL Media Menü SPIEGEL Media aufklappen.Alle Magazine Menü Alle Magazine aufklappen.SPIEGEL-Heft Menü SPIEGEL-Heft aufklappen.Gutscheine Anzeige Menü Gutscheine aufklappen.Marktplatz Anzeige Menü Marktplatz aufklappen.
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