Caerphilly County Borough Council has made a profit of almost £4million on its investments – despite losing £1.5m in the collapse of the Icelandic banks.
Over the last six years, the local authority has made £5.39m from interest- making initiatives. With estimated losses of £1.459m from Iceland, the council is left with £3,931,000.
Head of Finance Nicole Scammell recently detailed the figures in a presentation to councillors.
Deputy Leader and cabinet member for corporate finance, Colin Mann, said: “The facts in the presentation to Audit Committee finally nail the lie that Caerphilly has mismanaged its funds.
“The reality is that, even with a cash loss on the Icelandic banks, the overall management of the council funds over this period has resulted in a huge surplus.
“No-one would have chosen to have lost even one pound. But the reality is that the officers of Caerphilly council have actually achieved a huge surplus of nearly £4m which I regard as a fantastic achievement. And, of course surpluses can be ploughed back into frontline services for the benefit of residents.”
The council had invested £15m in two Icelandic banks which which collapsed during the finacial crisis of 2008. A repayment plan has been drawn up and it is estimated that £13.5m will be paid back by 2017.
I note that the council is being very cute regarding how much has actually been paid back from the Icelandic fiasco. I aim to find out exactly what has been returned and what is still lost.
Are we looking at smoke and mirrors in regard to the figures produced by Caerphilly Council?????
I wonder what the financial `gain` has been if one deducts the Icelandic losses? But according to the Caerphilly council`s official documents provided to me, by them, there have not been any losses, in fact the contrary is the case.
This will become clear only when Caerphilly Council demonstrate an `honest` and `transparent` approach to the answers to the questions the public are currently asking them to provide.
I have been told, in a response to very specific Freedom of Information request, that the Caerphilly Council`s investment in the Icelandic Banks has already paid the ratepayers of the Borough huge healthy financial dividends, for instance:
The Icelandic banks have already repaid the Council £6.522,474. 23P That`s six million five hundred and twenty two thousand four hundred and seventy four pounds and twenty three pence. They also inform me that the ratepayers of the borough will receive a further £1,611.448.77p That`s a further one million six hundred and eleven thousand four hundred and forty eight thousand pounds and ninety seven pence this month January 2012.
This makes a total repayment of actual cash, (because that is the original question I asked the council to provide me with, and from which response I have taken the above amounts) from Icelandic Banks of a very respectable total
amount returned to the ratepayers of Caerphilly of £8,133,923.20p The Caerphilly Council also tell me that they anticipate a further return of £2,365,742.54 in 2012.This includes healthy payments, i.e. money already in the Council Bank Accounts, ( because that is what my question for information asked) of INTEREST on the investments, of £80,176,09p that is, over £80,000 in paid interest on the investment, that has to be good news, Has`nt it?
All the above figures, have been provided to me in a legal and regulated reply to a Freedom of Information request, so I have no reason to doubt them, in fact, the Council have a legal obligation to provide CORRECT and ACCURATE information to such requests, and what they have provided me with really does seem to demonstrate the wisdom and foresight of the Caerphilly Borough Council`s investment of ratepayers money in Icelandic Banks.
Unless anyone knows anything different of course, and it appears, that the opposition Labour and Independent Councillors on Caerphilly Council must take the same pragmatic (intelligent practice) view as do I (relying on the figures they have OFFICIALLY provided me with) of the Plaid Cymru Council`s wisdom in making this Icelandic investment of our money in the first place. Else, they would be telling us so, would`nt they?????