A short update on Wycombe District Council Icelandic bank investments Q. Did the council get all its capital investment back ? A. Yes, but just under £500,000 of it remains in escrow in Iceland pending relaxation of the Icelandic Central bank rules relating to the release of Icelandic Kroner held within the Icelandic banking system. Q. How much money was invested ? A. £2,500,000 Q. Did the council get any interest on this money ? A. Yes. Q. How much interest did the council get ? A. Interest of just under £159,000 was paid on the deposit for the period January 2008 to the deposit’s original maturity date in January 2009, though because of currency fluctuation between then and the payment date this effectively reduced to £79,416. Q. Did the council get interest on this money for all the years the capital was invested ? A. No. Q. Which years did the council not get interest on the money invested in Icelandic Bank ? A. No interest was paid while the bank was in administration from the loan maturity date up to the repayment date. (2008 onwards) Source: Wycombe District Council Observation: Return on investment (ROI) very poor, not including costs and time associated with getting some of the money back, only 80% to-date or £2m. As someone who put no money into Icelandic banks or Cyprus banks, as it was obvious these were high risk investments, given the size of the countries. You have just seen it happen in Cyprus with the banks and the size of the economy. One has to ask who made the decision in WDC and many other councils across the UK ? It seems for the money the leadership earn their judgement and understanding is questionable ? Part of the problem is the process of recruitment and performance management. It’s time they treated public money as if it was their own. We are sure that if a unitary authority across Bucks was brought in, then not only will savings of millions be made but these top heavy organisations and the associated duplication will be minimised. Notwithstanding centralised buying power will attract greater cost savings.
Posted on: Sat, 15 Jun 2013 14:25:41 +0000
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