Iceland said on Sunday it had agreed to a new deal to repay Britain and the Netherlands billions of dollars of deposits lost when the island's banks collapsed in 2008, paving the way for new aid from international lenders, Reuters reported. Iceland passed a law in August to repay money lost in high-interest "Icesave" accounts, but Britain and the Netherlands balked at the terms, holding up aid from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other lenders for the island's stricken economy.

Iceland, the U.K. and the Netherlands are closer to agreeing to loan terms for Iceland to repay the massive losses by foreign depositors in the collapsed Icesave Internet bank, said Iceland Finance Minister Steingrímur Sigfússon, The Wall Street Journal reported. "I feel there is a real will now to move ahead," said Mr. Sigfússon, after what he described as good meetings on the issue with his British and Dutch counterparts at the International Monetary Fund's annual meeting in Istanbul. He said the situation in the U.K.

Dutch securities trader Van der Moolen Holding NV said Tuesday the Court in Amsterdam has declared the last three entities of the company bankrupt, Dow Jones reported. This affects Van der Moolen Effectenspecialist BV, Curvalue II BV and Curvalue III. Van der Moolen said Sept. 17 it completed the transfer of its European securities position to Securities and Derivatives Trading B.V., a company which is owned by former employees of Van der Moolen and third-party investors. The court Sept. 9 approved Van der Moolen's request to be deemed insolvent, clearing the way for its liquidation.

Britain and the Netherlands oppose a deadline in Iceland's plans to repay savers who lost money held in the island nation's banks when they collapsed, a government official said on Thursday, Reuters reported. A member of Iceland's budgetary committee, who declined to be named, said the two countries would not accept a clause that meant that the repayment guarantee ran out in June, 2024. Iceland's three main banks and its currency collapsed late last year in the global financial crisis. More than $5 billion was lost in Icelandic deposit accounts.

Icelandic lawmakers began a final debate on Thursday on a politically sensitive bill to authorise paying back Britain and the Netherlands more than $5 billion lost in Icelandic deposit accounts last year, Reuters reported. Parliament is expected to approve the government-sponsored bill, the passage of which is seen as key if Iceland hopes to receive further aid from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other lenders. A majority in the Icelandic parliament's budget committee thrashed out some final amendments this week, paving the way for approval when the vote takes place.

Icelandic politicians took a step on Saturday towards passing a controversial bill that will guarantee repayment of funds lost by British and Dutch savers in accounts of collapsed Landsbanki, a member of parliament said, Reuters reported. The parliament's budget committee agreed on a revised version of the so-called Icesave bill and is ready to put it before parliament for voting next week, said Thor Saari, who represents opposition party. the Civic Movement, in the committee.

Dutch brokerage Van der Moolen Holding NV won creditor protection from a Dutch court on Monday, saying it had a "very weak" liquidity position and was considering asset sales and significant writedowns, Reuters reported. The move came less than a month after the company's chief executive resigned, leaving it without a management board. On July 17, Van der Moolen said its top priority would be raising capital amid further losses. The 117-year-old firm was once one of the most recognizable names on Wall Street as a top market maker on the New York Stock Exchange.

Tiny Iceland was hit uniquely hard by the credit crisis, The Economist reported. Its banks had assets eight times its GDP. When they collapsed it seemed that a life of fishing and harvesting pelts beckoned for the country’s more sophisticated inhabitants. Yet Iceland is special in another way: it did not issue a blanket bail-out to its banks, but rather let bits of them go bust. That could mean the cost to its public is less devastating than once seemed possible. When the government stepped in last October, it only took over the domestic operations of the three big banks.

Loss-making Dutch hotel operator Golden Tulip will file for bankruptcy for 13 hotels in the Netherlands that it directly owns and operates, Reuters reported. The decision will not affect franchised or affiliated hotels, of which there are 720 in more than 50 countries, and the affected hotels will continue to operate during the proceedings, the company said. The group owns 60 hotels directly. The unlisted hotel chain had warned earlier this year that declining occupancy rates and the cost of investing in new hotels had led to losses.

Europe’s central banks are $40 billion poorer than they might have been after they followed a British move taken 10 years ago on Thursday to shrink the Bank of England’s gold reserves, analysis by the Financial Times has shown. London’s announcement on May 7 1999 that it would sell a large share of the Bank’s gold reserves in favour of assets offering a return, such as government bonds, was the high water mark of so-called “anti-gold” sentiment among European central banks.