14. October 2022

Fossar Investment Bank hosts annual Iceland Capital Markets Day in New York

Fossar Investment Bank hosted a conference at the Peninsula in New York this Wednesday where foreign investors had an opportunity to gain insight into Iceland´s economy and capital markets characteristics. We were joined by speakers Sturla Palsson, Director of Markets at the Central Bank of Iceland, Magnus Hardarson, CEO of Nasdaq Iceland and Ida Bra Benediktsdottir, Deputy CEO of Arion Bank in a lively discussion.

The three main themes that emerged across presentations were the economically sound fundamentals of Iceland, its strong local infrastructure and increasing global relevance. Last month, the equity market had over $100m inflow in one day, as Iceland´s reclassification to secondary emerging market status by FTSE Russell took effect in its first tranche (out of three).

We discussed the next steps, a potential upgrade by MSCI to EM (from frontier), where despite some challenges, there is a realistic pathway for Iceland in the coming years. These developments are likely to attract even more active foreign participation and interest in the market. With a credible Central Bank closing in on the end of their hiking cycle, as we see inflation subsiding, Iceland is in an enviable position. Despite the highly uncertain global economic outlook Iceland remains resilient and on track for continued strong growth in 2022.