STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - The centre-right government of Iceland has called parliament to a vote late on Sunday on part of a plan to unwind capital controls which have been in place since the financial crisis.
Johannes Thor Skulason, assistant to the prime minister, said the aim was for parliament to vote on certain parts of the plan as a security measure before financial markets open on Monday, whereas the main bill would be presented on Monday when the government will host a press conference.
Capital controls have been in place in the North Atlantic island of 330,000 people since the 2008 global financial crisis, when its three main banks, Glitnir, Landsbanki and Kaupthing, all collapsed, sending the economy and the Icelandic crown into meltdown.
The central bank has said the book value of the assets of the failed banks that are denominated in Icelandic crowns is about 500 billion ($3.75 billion), corresponding to roughly a quarter of the country's GDP.
With the economy starting to return to normality, Iceland has been planning for some time to remove the capital controls, which have stunted investment, while avoiding a new run on the crown that could hurt the economic recovery.
The government has said it plans to impose a tax on any debt recovered from the failed banks that investors take out of Iceland, to stem outflows and reduce the risk of the crown plunging again.
(Reporting by Ragnhildur Sigurdardottir, writing by Sven Nordenstam, editing by David Evans)
