Fund assets increased through March in Iceland
Latest data published by the Central Bank of Iceland points to another month of asset gains by the country's mutual, investment and institutional investment funds.
Total assets of these three fund types reached ISK846.1bn (€6.2bn) by the end of the month, up ISK15.9bn (€116m) on the previous month, with bond funds accounting for the bulk of this change, or some ISK12.1bn. Per fund type, total assets were ISK151.2bn for mutual funds, ISK345.5bn for investment funds, and ISK394.4bn for institutional investment funds.
The total number of funds at the end of March was 221 - of which 42 were mutual funds, 59 investment funds, and 120 institutional investment funds.
For pension funds, total assets hit ISK4,545bn (€33.1bn), representing a gain of some ISK94bn (€68.5m) on the previous month. The bulk of assets were the result of mandatory savings - some ISK4,085bn - with voluntary savings accounting for some ISK460bn.
Domestic assets at the end of March were ISK3,275bn (€23.9bn). Foreign assets of pension funds were reported as ISK1,270bn (€9.25bn).
Capital controls
In related developments, the central bank announced at the beginning of May that its Capital Controls Surveillance Unit (CCSU) had been abolished as a seperate department within the bank. Remaining projects were to be transferred to its Financial Stability Department or the Legal Department.
This ended a key regulatory hangover from the financial crisis that hit the country in 2009. The CCSU was established in September that year, and was tasked with monitoring the capital controls that were put in place in response to the crisis, including investigating alleged violations.
More recently, it also worked on designing and implementing a "special reserve requirement" to stem excessive capital inflows resulting from carry trade and speculation since 2015 - Iceland's interest rate is still well above that of both the ECB and Federal Reserve, with the central bank's Monetary Policy Committee deciding on 20 March this year to maintain its key seven day term deposit rate at 4.5%.
At its peak, the CCSU had 24 staff.
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