Glass-Steagall Re-Introduced in Icelandic Parliament

November 6, 2013 • 9:17AM

The Glass-Steagall motion has been reintroduced in Iceland's parliament, the Althingi. It was debated on Oct. 30, and referred to a committee.

The text of the resolution is the same as the March 18, 2013, amended version, unanimously passed by the Economics Committee, but for a change in date.

"Parliament resolves to entrust the Minister of Industry and Innovation with the task of appointing a committee to investigate whether, and by what means, a separation of commercial and investment banking shall be conducted, in order to minimize the risk of the banking system to the economy of the nation. The committee should examine the policies of neighboring countries in this regard, and submit its recommendations before October 14, 2013," This was shortly after the Fall session began.

Because the initiator of the original resolution Alfheidur Ingadóttir was not re-elected to the Althingi, the re-introduced motion was proposed by her colleague in the Left-Green Party, Árni Thór Sigurdsson, and was co-sponsored by other members of the same party and the Social Democrats. During the debate, a member of the Pirate Party also supported the resolution. Iceland, which underwent a total bank blowout, took a leading international role in discussing bank separation in the parliament, but it has not yet been agreed upon.