Kaupthing Bank

Kaupthing Bank (Icelandic: Kaupþing banki; Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈkœipθɪŋɡ]) was a major international Icelandic bank, headquartered in Reykjavík, Iceland. It was taken over by the Icelandic government during the 2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis and the domestic Icelandic based operations were spun into a new bank New Kaupthing, which was subsequently renamed Arion Banki. All the non-Icelandic assets and debts remained with the now defunct Kaupthing Bank. Prior to its collapse it also allegedly loaned money to various parties with the purpose of buying Kaupthing shares.

Prior to its collapse, Kaupthing Bank operated in thirteen countries, including all the Nordic countries, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. It was seventh largest bank in the Nordic countries in terms of market capitalization.

The bank had employed over 3,300 people with 36 retail branches in Iceland. As of 31 December 2007, the bank had a total assets of €58.3 billion. In 2006, it ranked number 1,006 on Forbes Global 2000 The same year, it ranked number 177 (up by 34 places from 2005) on the list of the world's largest banks composed annually by the international finance magazine The Banker. That year Kaupthing Bank had net earnings of €812 million, compared with €986 million in 2006. About 70% of the operating profit originated outside Iceland (33% in Iceland, 31% in the UK, 26% in Scandinavia, 8% in Luxembourg and 2% in other countries).