Iceland’s call

Sir, – Against the backdrop of the recent HSBC banking scandal and the predictable tut-tutting that followed, it is refreshing to see that Iceland takes white-collar crime seriously, as their supreme court has upheld the convictions of four high-ranking bank officials for market manipulation ("Iceland convicts bad bankers and says other nations can act", February 13th). It should also be remembered that Iceland, against considerable external pressure, took the bold decision to "burn its bondholders". What a plucky country it has proven to be. – Yours, etc,

JOHN BELLEW,

Dunleer, Co Louth.