Saga Capital Investment Bank Iceland

Mr. Eggert Arni Gislason, CEO of Mata hf., and Mr. Gunnar Thor Gudmannsson, CEO of Vogaver ehf., were elected new Board Members to Saga Capital Investment Bank at the bank’s Annual General Meeting last Friday.

The Saga Capital Board Members also include Mr. Halldor Johannsson, acting Chairman of Saga Capital and CEO of KEA, Mr. Johann Antonsson, advisor, and Mr. Sindri Sindrason, Board Chairman of Eimskipafélag Íslands.

The AGM approved changes to Saga Capital’s remuneration policy, which are to reflect the bank’s current employment and wage setting. The changes include, amongst other things, authorization to elect a special remuneration committee. A proposal of lowering the Board’s wages by 15% from last year was also approved. The meeting revealed that wages held by Saga Capital’s employees were similar or lower than wages paid by the current State banks and that no Saga Capital employee, nor CEO, had exercised a call option of shares in the bank.

Mr. Thorvaldur Ludvik Sigurjonsson, Saga Capital’s CEO, described the bank’s 2008 activities and presented the audited fiscal accounts. The bank lost ISK 3.7 billion in the previous year due directly to the financial crisis in the fall months of 2008. Mr. Sigurjonsson pointed out that according to the bank’s audited Q3 accounts, which were published only a few weeks before the crisis, the operations were well balanced with a CAD ratio of 53% and a foreseen annual profit of ISK 300 million. Had the status not been this good, the bank would hardly have been able to withstand this huge collapse. The AGM agreed to offset last year’s loss against the bank’s equity which thus reduces to ISK 6.2 billion and the CAD ratio to 15%.

Saga Capital’s application for a commercial banking license is being processed by the Financial Supervisory Authority and Mr. Sigurjonsson stated that as soon as the license is granted, the bank will mark its place as a corporate bank with a broad service base, asset management and increased consultancy services.

Mr. Halldor Johannsson, the Board Chairman of Sage Capital, discussed the events of last year which was the bank’s first complete operating year. “We have seen everything happen at the same time: a currency crisis, a banking crisis as well as an economic crisis and added to that, considerable political uncertainty,” said Mr. Johannsson who explained that through these dramatic changes, the market in which the bank had intended to trade had both shrunk and changed, and the bank’s internal operations and focus will be directed by these changes in the upcoming months.

Mr. Johannsson pointed out that financial enterprises not represented by the Icelandic State in one way or another were very few and inevitable that they reduce in number as the State will not operate three identical commercial banks in addition to owning a controlling interest in most of the country’s savings banks. “We believe that Saga Capital will do well in this altered environment and have plenty to offer its clients,” said Mr. Johannsson.

Here you will find Saga Capital’s Annual Report 2008.