This week’s issue is from December 1996, and starts with a presentation of the debt advice services available in Iceland; the author, Elin Sigrun Jónsdóttir, writes that many Icelandic families, due to a severe shortage in loan capital, have started taking many short-term loans in order to finance the purchase of their homes. Iceland had, as a consequence hereof created a new law on the rescheduling of debt, and 16 parties signed a cooperative agreement establishing the Household Finances Advisory Service (HFAS), supported by both the ministry of social affairs, all lending institutions, local authorities, labour unions and even the national church of Iceland. After this Sigrun thoroughly describes how the Icelandic people is counselled by this new organisation as well as statistics on who these people are.
In this issue you can also read about the market behaviour, levels of loans and overindebtedness in the then newly reunited federal German Republic by Dr. Dieter Korczak; how the monetary union might affect the consumers of the union by Joan Conlin and much, much more.
Have a nice read! 😀
