Council had �15.5m Iceland cash

More than 100 councils revealed they had deposits in Icelandic banks

A Surrey council which had �15.5m invested in two Icelandic banks has said it still remains "in a very strong financial position".

Reigate Council said it had more than �60m in reserves after many years of prudent financial management.

Councillor Mike Buttery said: "There is absolutely no immediate threat to the delivery of our services."

UK Treasury officials are in Iceland to demand that funds invested by local councils are recovered quickly.

Reigate and Banstead Borough Council said it had �15.5m in Glitnir and Landsbanki.

'Rainy day cash'

Councillor Buttery added that there were strict guidelines on where councils could invest, and said: "Until recent times the Icelandic banks met all the government criteria for risk and had excellent credit ratings."

He explained the local authority held "significant contingency funds for a rainy day" and it would be "inappropriate for councils to live hand to mouth".

On Thursday, Surrey County Council confirmed it had previously tried to withdraw its �20m investments in two Icelandic banks.

It said its investments of �10m in Glitnir and �10m in Landsbanki would not affect frontline services because the council had "sufficient funds".

So far more than 100 local authorities in England, Wales and Scotland have revealed that they have deposits worth �842.5m in total.

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