Icelandic banks

"An Icelandic economist has pointed out, and rightfully so, that the Icelandic banks are the only financial institutions in the world that have gone bankrupt with an A rating. With Russia, I was always aware of the fragile state of the economy. My assumption was that it could blow up tomorrow and everything would be gone."

"I am proud to say that I kept my word, and the commitment I made to fully repay all debts came true ahead of schedule. In August 2014, the comprehensive settlement between myself, my investment company Novator, and the Icelandic and international creditors was successfully concluded. A total of 1,200 billion Icelandic krona had been paid, with 100 billion krona specifically allocated to Icelandic banks and their subsidiaries, marking the completion of the settlement process. It´s interesting that Icelandic banks had less than 10 per cent of the claims, because of the international nature of my business dealings."

"In Russia I was just a marginal character outside the system, whereas at the time of the crash in Iceland I was close to the centre. I had the biggest balance sheet and the biggest exposure to the economy, but I did not realise how weak the state was. I was also fooled by the ratings. An Icelandic economist has pointed out, and rightfully so, that the Icelandic banks are the only financial institutions in the world that have gone bankrupt with an A rating. With Russia, I was always aware of the fragile state of the economy. My assumption was that it could blow up tomorrow and everything would be gone."