An open presentation of the public offering of shares in Síldarvinnslan, held in Harpan on Thursday, 6 May, was very successful. The meeting was open to the public and attended by a large audience, both physically and live online.

The Bank’s profit in the first three months of 2021 amounted to ISK 7.6 billion. Return on equity (ROE) was 11.7%.

The CPI based on prices in mid-April increased by 0.71% month-on-month, bringing the headline inflation to 4.6%.

As a result of an error at SaltPay (previously Borgun), transactions with Visa payment cards made on Thursday 22 April were duplicated.

Last week the IMF released Staff Concluding Statement of its recent Article IV Mission and the government introduced stricter border measures.

Last week the CBI released its bi-annual Financial Stability report and the statement of the Financial Stability Committee.

We will reopen Landsbankinn's branches as soon as changes to restrictions on gatherings enter into force on Thursday, 15 April. Please continue to make appointments to visit us, to help us uphold the 2-metre distance rule and ensure that we respect the 20 persons rule. By making an appointment, you also avoid unnecessary waiting.

During the period 16-18 April, Arion Bank in collaboration with the Icelandic Banks' Data Centre (RB), will implement a new deposit and payment system. During the implementation process, there will be some disruption to Arion Bank’s services, such as that information about transfers to accounts with Arion Bank will not appear immediately on its customers’ statements.

At the end of March, the EUR/ISK stood at 148.2, compared to 152.9 at the end of February, and the exchange rate index decreased (the króna strengthened) by 1.8%. The CBI will reduce its regular currency sales as of the beginning of April.

The Minister of Health issued amended rules at the borders on testing and quarantine.

The Minister of Health issued amended rules at the borders on testing and quarantine.

Last week the MPC held policy rates unchanged, in line with our expectations. The CPI increased by 0.49% between months bringing the year on year change to 4.3%.

The annual general meeting of Landsbankinn, held on 24 March 2021, agreed to pay a dividend amounting to ISK 4,489 million to shareholders. The dividend is equivalent to 42.7% of 2020 profits. As a result, total dividends paid by the Bank in 2013-2021 will amount to around ISK 146 bn. Three new individuals were elected to the Board of Directors at the AGM.

Landsbankinn’s services will change as of 25 March to reflect tighter restrictions on gatherings enacted to slow the spread of Covid-19. We encourage customers to use Landsbankinn’s app, online banking and ATMs as much as possible. A great deal of banking business can be tended to through these channels, simply and quickly.

The Annual General Meeting of Landsbankinn will be held on Wednesday, 24 March 2021. Proposals for the AGM and information about candidates for election to the Board of Directors are available on the Bank’s website.

We expect the MPC to hold policy rates unchanged on Wednesday. On Thursday, Statistics Iceland will release CPI numbers for March.

Last week the Icelandic Tourist Board published departures from Keflavík International Airport and Icelandair published traffic data.

The current account surplus was ISK 22.1bn in Q4 2020.

At the end of February, the EUR/ISK stood at 152.9, compared to 156.1 at the end of January, appreciating during the month. Both turnover and fluctuation was similar as in January. The CBI continued its regular programme of currency sales.

The Icelandic economy contracted by 6.6% between years in 2020.

The CBI released the minutes of the MPC’s meeting on the policy rate decision 3 February. Landsbankinn concluded the sale of a new green euro-denominated bond series. Landsvirkjun published financial statements for 2020.

Today, Landsbankinn concluded the sale of a new green bond series in the amount of EUR 300 million. The bonds bear 0.375% fixed rates and were sold at terms equivalent to an 87 basis points spread above mid-swap market rates. Subscriptions came to just under one billion euro from more than 80 investors.

Landsbankinn has carbon-offset its 2020 activity and achieved CarbonNeutral® company certification.

Landsbankinn’s service outlet in Djúpivogur has been moved to the shopping and service centre at Búland 1, where Kjörbúðin, Íslandspóstur and Vínbúðin are located. The Bank’s opening hours are unchanged and the ATM will be accessible during Kjörbúðin’s opening hours.

Last week, Icelandair Group and the three main commercial banks published financial results for 2020.

The profit of Landsbankinn hf. in 2020 was ISK 10.5 billion after taxes, as compared with ISK 18.2 billion in 2019. After-tax ROE was 4.3% in 2020, as compared with 7.5% in 2019.

Landsbankinn's Annual and ESG Report for 2020 has been published to the Bank's website. The report presents the Bank’s operation and services in 2020 in an accessible manner.

Iceland’s competitive banking market is characterised by a high degree of innovation and a strong tradition of customer service. Landsbankinn, winning the 2020 country award, impressed the judges in both of these domains, and with its relatively strong set of financial results.

The MPC of the CBI held policy rates unchanged. Concurrent with the policy rate decision, the CBI released its quarterly Monetary Bulletin. The CBI sent the prime minister a report on inflation above the upper deviation threshold of the inflation target. The population of Iceland was 368,590 at end of 2020.

January was uneventful on the Icelandic FX interbank market. The EUR was stable within a rather narrow limit, with both turnover and fluctuation declining between months. The CBI continued its regular programme of currency sales.