Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir has appointed Gunnar Jakobsson to the position of Deputy Governor for Financial Stability. Gunnar Jakobsson has a degree in Law and an MBA from Yale University. In recent years he has held executive positions with Goldman Sachs, first in New York, and more recently as Managing Director of Liquidity and Personal Data Protection with Goldman Sachs International in London.
The new Act on the Central Bank of Iceland, passed in June 2019, stipulates that three Deputy Governors be appointed for the Central Bank, each for a term of five years. One Deputy Governor oversees matters relating to monetary policy; the second, matters relating to financial stability; and the third, matters relating to financial supervision.
At the turn of the year, Deputy Governor Rannveig Sigurdardóttir will take the position of Deputy Governor for Monetary Policy, and Unnur Gunnarsdóttir, Director-General of the Financial Supervisory Authority, will take the position of Deputy Governor for Financial Supervision.
Gunnar Jakobsson will not begin work at the Central Bank until 1 March 2020 because of prior commitments. Therefore, the Prime Minister, in consultation with the Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, has tasked Central Bank Governor Ásgeir Jónsson to carry out the duties of Deputy Governor for Financial Stability concurrent with his position as Governor until 1 March 2020.
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Mr. Bjarni Benediktsson takes office in Iceland
By Xuefei Chen Axelsson
STOCKHOLM, Jan. 11 (Greenpost)–A new Government consisting of the Independence Party, the Reform Party and Bright Future has been formed and took office on Wednesday.
Eleven ministers will take seat in the Government, six from the Independence Party, three from the Reform Party and two from Bright Future. Three of the current ministries, the Ministry of Industries and Innovation, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Welfare, will have two ministers each.
Prime Minister is Mr. Bjarni Benediktsson, chairman of the Independence Party.
Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs is Mr. Benedikt Jóhannesson, chairman of the Reform Party.
Minister of Health is Mr. Óttarr Proppé, chairman of Bright Future, (Ministry of Welfare).
Minister of Social Affairs and Equality is Mr. Þorsteinn Víglundsson, Reform Party, (Ministry of Welfare).
Minister of Education, Science and Culture is Mr. Kristján Þór Júlíusson, Independence Party.
Minister of Tourism, Industry and Innovation is Mrs. Þórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörð Gylfadóttir, Independence Party, (Ministry of Industries and Innovation).
Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture is Mrs. Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, Reform Party, (Ministry of Industries and Innovation).
Minister for Foreign Affairs is Mr. Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson, Independence Party.
Minister for the Environment and Natural Resources is Mrs. Björt Ólafsdóttir, Bright Future.
Minister of Justice is Mrs. Sigríður Ásthildur Andersen, Independence Party, (Ministry of the Interior).
Minister of Transport and Local Government is Mr. Jón Gunnarsson, Independence Party, (Ministry of the Interior).
Roundup: China’s methanol car maker invests Iceland’s leading new energy producer
REYKJAVIK, July 3 (Greenpost) — China’s Geely Holding Group, known as the world’s leading methanol vehicle manufacturer, inked a deal on Friday to make an investment of 45.5 million U.S. dollars in three years to Iceland’s Carbon Recycling International (CRI), known as the world leader in power to methanol technology.
Addressing the agreement signing ceremony, Li Shufu, founder and chairman of Geely Holding Group, said, “it is no doubt that methanol will be widely used as its advantages compared with gasoline fuel will be more and more prominent. I believe the cooperation with CRI will greatly promote Geely’s development in clean energy for vehicles.”
CRI produces renewable methanol, marketed under the Vulcanol brand, from carbon dioxide, hydrogen and electricity for energy storage, fuel applications and efficiency enhancement.
Methanol is a clean burning, high octane fuel that can be blended with gasoline for automobiles and used in the production of biodiesel or fuel ethers and reduces carbon emissions by more than 90 percent compared to fossil fuels.
“The investment of Geely to CRI will enable carbon recycling expand into China as well as into Europe. It will accelerate the deployment of our technology in China as well as in Europe. It will facilitate the development of methanol fuel cars,” said K-C Tran, chief executive officer of CRI.
Geely became the first auto manufacturer in China to begin conducting research and development into methanol vehicle solutions in 2005, and has since acquired dozens of patents.
It’s Englon SC7 sedan was the first methanol-fuelled car to receive approval from China’s ministry of industry and information technology.
Scientific studies indicate that methanol-fuelled cars generate as much as 80 percent fewer fine particulate matter (PM2.5) emissions than traditional gasoline-powered equivalent and cost an average of 40 to 50 percent less to fuel.
“In this sense, Geely group is a natural investment partner for CRI. With the deepening of this partnership, we will explore the possibility of promoting methanol vehicles that will meet local standards here in Iceland and other European countries,” Li added.
Describing Geely’s cooperation with CRI as an important practice to realize their commitment to the global sustainable development, Li said, “Geely is unique in researching and manufacturing methanol vehicles around the world, and so is CRI in converting carbon dioxide into methanol. The cooperation between these two companies will promote the development of the clean energy and the carbon cycle economy.” Enditem
Source Xinhua
Editor Xuefei Chen Axelsson
Iceland to raise interest rate by half a percent
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Iceland has decided to raise the Bank’s interest rates by 0.5 percentage points. The Bank’s key interest rate – the rate on seven-day term deposits – will therefore be 5%, a statement reaching here from Iceland’s central bank said.
According to newly published national accounts, GDP growth measured 2.9% in Q1/2015. Consumption and investment grew by 6.4% and domestic demand by almost 10%. These figures, together with the strong recovery of the labour market, indicate that economic activity is growing broadly in line with the Bank’s May forecast.
Although inflation is still low, the inflation outlook has deteriorated markedly from the Bank’s last forecast, and inflation expectations have continued to rise. The outlook is for higher inflation than the Bank projected in May because wage increases recently negotiated have been significantly larger than was assumed in the May forecast.
In order to facilitate the conclusion of wage settlements, the Government has announced measures that will increase public expenditures and reduce tax revenues. This will entail an easing of the fiscal stance, other things being equal, as they have not been financed. Furthermore, the authorities have announced measures aimed to prepare for liberalisation of the capital controls. Some of these measures will generate revenues for the Treasury, and it is important that these revenues be allocated so as not to stimulate the domestic economy still further, i.e. by activating the hitherto sterile component of money holdings. The MPC will monitor developments closely and will take appropriate countervailing measures if necessary. In recent MPC statements, the Committee has repeatedly pointed out that large pay increases and strong growth in demand could undermine the recently achieved price stability and require that interest rates be raised again. The outlook for developments in wage costs, the increase in inflation expectations, and indicators of robust demand growth make it unavoidable to respond to the worsening inflation outlook now, even though inflation is still below target. Furthermore, it seems apparent that a sizeable rate increase will be necessary in August, followed by further rate hikes in the coming term, so as to ensure price stability over the medium term.
Overnight lending: 6.75%
Seven-day collateralised lending: 5.75%
Seven-day term deposits: 5.00%
Current account: 4.75%