 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Banking |
| Founded | 1930 |
| Defunct | 9 October 2008 |
| Fate | Government custodianship, moratorium on payments |
| Successor | Arion banki (Icelandic business only) |
| Headquarters | Reykjavík, Iceland |
Key people | Hreiðar Már Sigurðsson (CEO) Sigurður Einarsson (Chairman of the board) Ingólfur Helgason (CEO in Iceland) Ármann Þorvaldsson (CEO in United Kingdom) |
 €812 million (2007)[1] | |
| Total assets | €58.34 billion (2007)[1] |
Number of employees | 3,330 (2007)[1] |
| Website | www.kaupthing.com |
Kaupthing Bank (Icelandic: Kaupþing banki; Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈkʰœyːpˌθiŋk]) was a major international Icelandic bank, headquartered in Reykjavík, Iceland. It was taken over by the Icelandic government during the 2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis and the domestic Icelandic-based operations were spun into a new bank New Kaupthing, which was subsequently renamed Arion Banki. All the non-Icelandic assets and debts remained with the now defunct Kaupthing Bank. Prior to its collapse, it also allegedly loaned money to various parties with the purpose of buying Kaupthing shares.[2]
Prior to its collapse, Kaupthing Bank operated in thirteen countries, including all the Nordic countries, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. It was the seventh-largest bank in the Nordic countries in terms of market capitalization.
The bank had employed over 3,300 people with 36 retail branches in Iceland. As of 31 December 2007, the bank had a total assets of €58.3 billion.[3] In 2006, it ranked at number 1,006 on the Forbes Global 2000[4] and number 177 (up by 34 places from 2005) on the list of the world's largest banks composed annually by the international finance magazine The Banker.[5] That year Kaupthing Bank had net earnings of €812 million, compared with €986 million in 2006. About 70% of the operating profit originated outside Iceland (33% in Iceland, 31% in the UK, 26% in Scandinavia, 8% in Luxembourg and 2% in other countries).[3]
On 9 October 2008, following a major banking and financial crisis in Iceland, the Financial Supervisory Authority took control of the bank.[6] The domestic operations of the bank were spun off as a new bank and continue to operate; the rest of the bank, although never technically declared bankrupt, obtained a moratorium on payments from the District Court of Reykjavík and has been suspended from trading in the Iceland Stock Exchange.
- ^ a b c "Annual Report 2007". Kaupthing Bank. Archived from the original on 9 October 2008. Retrieved 8 May 2008.
- ^ Dey, Iain (28 October 2009). "Iceland's financial avalanche turns on bankers".
- ^ a b "Kaupthing". Archived from the original on 6 April 2008. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
- ^ The World's Biggest Public Companies (Forbes Magazine)
- ^ "Three Icelandic Banks among top 300 in World (Iceland Review Online)". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 12 July 2006.
- ^ "The Financial Supervisory Authority – Iceland, News: Based on New Legislation, the Icelandic Financial Supervisory Authority (FME) Proceeds to take Control of Kaupthing to ensure Continued Commercial Bank Operations in Iceland". 9 October 2008. Archived from the original on 14 October 2008.