Former governor and chairman of the Central Bank of Iceland Davíd Oddsson has confirmed a statement made by the president of the Dutch Central Bank, Nout Wellink, yesterday that he had told Wellink in September 2008 that he had warned the Icelandic government about the state of the Icelandic banks six months earlier.

Davíd Oddsson. Copyright: Icelandic Photo Agency.

Oddsson told Morgunbladid that he had met Wellink in Basel in early September 2008 at Wellink’s request. It was a confidential meeting but since Wellink has now discussed it publicly, Oddsson decided also to comment on it.

“He asked me about my opinion of the situation of the bank system in Iceland,” Oddsson said of his conversation with Wellink. “I told him that I was deeply concerned about it, obviously, because at that time all logistics for the banking system’s refinancing had been blocked for 13 months.”

“Then he asked me whether I had told the government [of Iceland] about my opinion,” Oddsson continued. “I told him that I had. In February that year, and on many other occasions, I had told the prime minister [Geir H. Haarde], and in some instances other ministers, that I had heavy and growing concerns about the situation of the banking system.”

“But I pointed out that it wasn’t my role to say whether the government shared my opinion because I was not its spokesperson,” Oddsson concluded.

Click here to read more about Wellink’s statement.