Regulator says insider information rules cover disclosures from parliament

Iceland’s financial regulator reviews reports of possible breaches of insider information rules regardless of where the information originates, Deputy Governor Björk Sigurgísladóttir said, according to mbl.is. She was responding to a question about a possible leak from parliament.

Sigurgísladóttir said the regulator could not confirm whether any particular case was under investigation, citing its statutory duty of confidentiality. She made the remarks at an open meeting of parliament’s economic and trade committee on Tuesday, where members discussed a report from the Central Bank’s supervisory committee.

Hildur Sverrisdóttir, an MP for the Independence Party, asked whether the Financial Supervisory Authority investigated indications that insider information available in parliament had leaked, either through MPs or staff of parliamentary groups. Sigurgísladóttir said all reports received by the regulator went through a set process, but it could not comment on individual cases, whether or not they had attracted public attention.

The question comes after Þórður Snær Júlíusson, executive director of the Social Democratic Alliance’s parliamentary group, wrote in March that the government planned to raise the bank tax by six billion krónur. He published the information on the group’s blog after the markets closed on March 27, before it was publicly announced and just over a day after Finance Minister Daði Már Kristófersson presented the government’s financial plan without giving the proposed increase’s amount.

The finance minister later said the information was probably based on a “misunderstanding”, but the amount was included in the following year’s budget bill. Nasdaq’s market surveillance unit raised the matter and asked the Finance Ministry for an explanation. Neither the exchange nor the Financial Supervisory Authority said whether a possible insider case had been examined when Morgunblaðið asked.

Information about a planned tax increase could affect the share prices of banks. Rules on insider information cover not only securities trading but also its unauthorised disclosure.