Glitnir Bank

What Glitnir Bank does

Glitnir Bank — legally Glitnir HoldCo ehf. — was an Icelandic commercial bank that collapsed during the October 2008 Icelandic financial crisis. The District Court of Reykjavik granted a Moratorium order on 24 November 2008, and the Icelandic Financial Supervisory Authority revoked the bank's licence in July 2011, requiring it to drop 'Banki' from its name. From 2008 onward, the entity functioned exclusively as a wind-down vehicle managed by a Resolution Committee and, after 2015, a Winding-up Board.

Following creditor approval (99.999% by value on 20 November 2015) and District Court confirmation (14 December 2015), Glitnir executed a Composition under Icelandic law, issuing EUR 1,585,774,666 of Amortising Zero-Coupon Convertible Notes due 2030 and New Ordinary Shares to Composition Creditors while cancelling legacy equity. Its largest recovery asset was a 95% stake in Íslandsbanki, acquired on 15 October 2009 on behalf of creditors with ISK 25 billion in Icelandic government support. As of January 2026, EUR 1,333,625,545 had been distributed to noteholders through optional cash redemptions, leaving a residual note balance of EUR 249,019,217.

The company made no revenue from banking or commercial operations and served no external customer base; its only constituents were Composition Creditors and noteholders. On 16 January 2026, shareholders passed a resolution to dissolve Glitnir HoldCo ehf. via solvent liquidation under Paragraph 1 of Article 84 of Act No. 138/1994, with a winding-up committee of Ingólfur Hauksson and Ragnar Björgvinsson elected to conclude final distributions and terminate the entity.

Name

Glitnir Bank

Legal name

Glitnir HoldCo ehf.

Website

https://glitnir.info

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Glitnir Bank (Glitnir HoldCo ehf.) is an Icelandic bank in solvent liquidation, wound down following its 2008 collapse via a court-confirmed Composition that distributed EUR-denominated convertible notes and Íslandsbanki proceeds to international institutional creditors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Banking

NAICS

Commercial Banking (522110)

SIC

State Commercial Banks (6022)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPADACAL

Debt Relief, Restructuring & Sovereign Advisory Programs

Business & Public Services/International Organizations & Development/International Financial Institutions & Development Banks

Keywords

• Investment banking
• Retail banking
• Securities trading
• Asset management
• Creditor composition proceedings

Headquarters

HQ city

Charlotte

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Glitnir Bank historically provided retail banking, corporate and investment banking, securities trading, and capital management services in Iceland. Following its 2008 collapse and subsequent creditor composition, the entity operated as a wind-up vehicle managing the orderly realization of assets (including a 95% stake in Íslandsbanki) and the scheduled redemption of Amortising Zero-Coupon Convertible Notes due 2030, culminating in a solvent liquidation resolved in January 2026.

Product overview

Glitnir Bank (Glitnir HoldCo ehf.) was an Icelandic commercial bank that entered into solvent liquidation proceedings following its composition approved in late 2015. The company's primary remaining activity is the management and redemption of its Amortising Zero-Coupon Convertible Notes due 2030, with remaining balance of EUR 249,019,217 as of January 2026. The company also held a 95% stake in Íslandsbanki as a major asset. The bank operated from Reykjavik and maintained press room and financial information portals for stakeholders.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Amortising Zero-Coupon Convertible Notes due 2030 Debt instrument issued by Glitnir HoldCo ehf. to Composition Creditors as part of the winding-up of the former Glitnir Bank, featuring optional cash redemptions and conversion into New Ordinary Shares; intended for international institutional creditors holding claims against the original Icelandic bank.

Quantifiable outcome

• Distributed EUR 1,333,625,545 to noteholders out of EUR 1,585,774,666 original principal

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Lord John EatwellcoreOthersRetained as expert economist for macroeconomic review of Icelandic economy issues relevant to Glitnir's proposed composition. President of Queens' College, Cambridge
• Skillcapital LLPminorOthersWorking with board selection committee to identify nominees for post-composition non-executive directors
• Central Bank of IcelandcoreOthersGranted exemptions for Glitnir to proceed with composition implementation; key regulator in composition process
• Epiq Bankruptcy Solutions, LLCcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerTransfer agent handling claim transfer processing
• ÍslandsbankicoreOthersGlitnir held 95% stake in Íslandsbanki acquired on behalf of creditors. Key asset in the wind-up proceedings

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Broad incumbents

• SEB: SEB is a leading Nordic financial services group providing wholesale and investment banking, corporate banking, and wealth management services comparable in scope to Glitnir's pre-crisis universal banking franchise with a similar Nordic regional focus.
• HSBC: HSBC is a global universal bank with significant international wholesale and investment banking operations broadly comparable to Glitnir's pre-crisis international wholesale banking and capital markets business model.
• Deutsche Bank: Deutsche Bank is a global universal bank with significant investment banking and capital markets operations broadly comparable to Glitnir's pre-crisis corporate and investment banking activities and its international corporate client franchise.
• Nordea: Nordea is a major Nordic universal bank with cross-border wholesale and retail operations broadly comparable to Glitnir's pre-crisis universal banking model and its Nordic geographic focus on corporate and institutional clients.
• BNP Paribas: BNP Paribas is a major European universal bank providing corporate and investment banking services comparable in scope to Glitnir's pre-crisis international wholesale banking, capital markets, and corporate sector lending franchise.
• DNB Bank: DNB is the largest financial services group in the Nordic region, offering commercial, investment, and retail banking services comparable in geographic footprint and product breadth to Glitnir's pre-crisis universal banking model oriented toward Nordic corporate, seafood, and energy clients.

Regional players

• Landsbankinn: Landsbankinn is the Icelandic universal commercial bank established as the operating successor to the collapsed Landsbanki Íslands, and is comparable to Glitnir's pre-2008 universal banking franchise in Icelandic market focus, product breadth, and corporate/retail customer base.
• Arion Bank: Arion Bank is an Icelandic universal commercial bank established following the 2008 crisis to take over the Icelandic operations of a failed bank, providing a regional commercial banking peer with comparable market focus and customer profile to the original Glitnir operations.
• Íslandsbanki: Íslandsbanki is an Icelandic universal commercial bank whose 95% share capital was acquired by Glitnir's Resolution Committee on behalf of creditors in 2009; it serves as both a regional Icelandic commercial banking peer and a key historical asset in Glitnir's wind-up proceedings.

Direct peers

• Kaupthing Bank: Kaupthing Bank was the third major Icelandic bank that collapsed in the 2008 financial crisis and entered into resolution and offshore creditor-composition proceedings, making it the most directly comparable historical peer of Glitnir in scale, geographic scope, and resolution process.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Glitnir Bank