Icelandic Economic Weekly: 15 Febru­ary 2021

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.

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.

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.

The Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs made a formal decision to initiate the sale shares in Íslandsbanki. The Treasury issued a eurobond. Landsbankinn issued a bond in SEK. The CPI based on prices in January decreased by 0.06% between months due to seasonal sales, bringing the headline number to 4.3%. The CBI released the results of its market expectations survey.

Landsbankinn was ranked highest by banking customers in the Icelandic Performance Satisfaction Index 2020, for the second year running. The results of the survey were published today.

The housing price index for the capital region increased by 0.6% MoM in December, bringing the YoY increase to 7.7%. Arion Bank released preliminary financial results for Q4.

Landsbankinn has published its first sustainable finance framework. The framework broadens our scope for financing green and social projects, such as switching to renewable energy sources, developing environmentally-friendly infrastructure and sustainable fisheries.