Banks seized, trading halted in Iceland

REYKJAVIK, Iceland, Oct. 9 (UPI) -- Iceland's stock exchange halted trading Thursday after the government seized control of two more of the country's major banks.

The government took over Kaupthing Bank, the nation's largest, and Landsbanki, which owns Icesave, a savings company with branches in Britain, the Financial Times reported.

Last week, Iceland's government took over Glintir bank. The three moves have put the country's economy on the brink of collapse, the Times reported.

On Wednesday, Kaupthing's Executive Chairman Sigurdur Einarsson asked the country's regulators, the Financial Supervisory Authority (FME), to step in after learning its British subsidiary, Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander had been placed in receivership in Britain, the Times reported.

Einarsson said depositors in its online savings bank, Kaupthing Edge, had begun a run on the bank, similar to a run on Icesave.

Icelandic regulators said Kaupthing's "domestic branches, call centers, cash machines and Internet operations will be open for business as usual."

"The action taken by the FME is a necessary first step in achieving the objectives of the Icelandic government and parliament to ensure the continued orderly operation of domestic banking and the safety of domestic deposits," the regulators said.