Icelandic government takes control of Glitnir

Commenting on the Icelandic government taking control of Glitnir, the country's third-largest bank, Kevin Mountford, head of banking at moneysupermarket.com, said: "Part of Iceland has finally started to melt.

"It was always felt that the Icelandic economy would not be immune to the global economic downturn and now we see its first victim in Glitnir. This will no doubt cause concern among some UK savers due to the prominent role Icesave and Kaupthing have played in the savings market. Savers with these Icelandic giants shouldn't fear as neither faces the same problems as Giltnir. That said though, there is little doubt savers should consider not having more than £35k with any one provider."