| Former type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Banking |
| Fate | Nationalized due to its insolvency |
| Founded | Reykjavík, Iceland, 1986 (foundation of Hlutabréfasjóðurinn hf.) |
| Defunct | 9 March 2009 |
| Headquarters | Reykjavík, Iceland |
| Key people | William Fall (CEO), Björgólfur Thor Björgólfsson (Chairman of the board) |
| Profit | €163 million (2007)[1] |
| Total assets | €7.137 billion (2007)[1] |
| Employees | 490 (2007)[1] |
| Website | www.straumur.com |
Straumur-Burdaras Investment Bank hf. (Icelandic: Straumur-Burðarás Fjárfestingabanki, usually referred to simply as Straumur) was a regional investment bank headquartered in Reykjavik, Iceland, that was closed by regulators in March 2009.
The company was mainly owned by Björgólfur Guðmundsson and his son Björgólfur Thor Björgólfsson. The latter was also the chairman of the board.
At one point, Straumur was Iceland's largest pure investment bank and the sixth-largest company on the OMX Nordic Exchange in Iceland. Straumur had an established presence in ten countries including the UK, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic.
On March 9, 2009, Straumur was nationalised by Icelandic authorities; according to Straumur, its "liquidity position was no longer strong enough to sustain activities".[2] Straumur was the last of Iceland's four biggest banks to remain independent, during the financial crisis.[2] On March 27, 2009, Staumur was closed with the CEO, William Fall, tendering his resignation.
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Straumur was founded in October 1986 as the Equity Fund (Hlutabréfasjóðurinn hf.) – an incentive for individuals in Iceland to invest in shares – and by 2001 it had become an investment company.
Over the next few years, the fund grew rapidly and was merged with a number of other Icelandic investment funds. In 2004, the Icelandic Financial Supervisory Authority approved Straumur's application for a license to operate as a credit undertaking and three more sources of income – brokerage, debt finance and corporate finance – were added to create a more regular flow of income.
In September 2005, Straumur merged with Burdarás, creating Iceland’s largest investment bank. The newly merged organisation had a stronger balance sheet and shareholder base and was well positioned to start expanding its activities beyond Iceland.
July 2006 – Straumur acquired 50.01% share of Stamford Partners, a specialist investment banking firm with operations in London and Amsterdam.
May 2007 – Straumur acquired 62% share in eQ Bank, a Finnish bank specialising in brokerage, asset management and corporate finance.
June 2007 – Straumur acquired 50% share in WOOD & Company, the leading independent investment house in Central and Eastern Europe.
July 2007 – As a result of a public tender offer, Straumur now controls over 95% of shares in eQ.[3]
October 2008 - Straumur acquired West Ham United due to a large debt owed by Björgólfur Guðmundsson, who borrowed a large sum of money from the bank to purchase the club
January 2010 - Sold off 50% of West Ham United to David Gold and David Sullivan for what was thought to be around £50,000,000
May 2010 - Sold off a further 10% of West Ham United to current owners Gold and Sullivan
August 2010 - Sold off a further 5% of West Ham United to a group of investors including former owner Terry Brown[4]
On March 9, 2009, the Icelandic Financial Supervisory Authority took control of Straumur. The FSA appointed a Resolution Committee which takes over all activity of the Board of Directors. [2] On March 27, Straumur was closed.