IF THERE is any good news from the Landsbanki Guernsey affair, it is that depositors have not lost all their money – one third will be returned to them in a short space of time. The bad news, however, is that it is unlikely savers, nearly 800 of whom are from this Bailiwick, will get it all back.

It will also be small comfort to investors to know that administrator Deloitte has moved incredibly quickly with the assistance of the Guernsey courts to be able to announce a 30p in the pound part-payment.

The statement released yesterday indicates how much work has had to be undertaken to verify the bank’s assets and liabilities and to confirm that there is sufficient cash in hand to make a limited return to its savers.

It also highlights the complexities of today’s banking system and the reliance investors place on executives and regulators ensuring that risks within that system are properly managed.

Significant sums are tied up in loans secured on UK commercial, residential and development property and, while it might have looked a good bet at the time, realising those customer assets at book value may now be impossible, certainly within a short timescale.

It is also now clear that ‘upstreaming’ money from Guernsey to Heritable Bank, which is in administration, and to Landsbanki’s Icelandic parent means substantial amounts might be unrecoverable and, again, raises questions about the way risks with individuals’ investments were handled.

What savers will welcome is the news that there will be a full independent inquiry into the way the Guernsey Financial Services Commission has handled the affair, for if there is blame to be laid, then that, too, needs to emerge.

What will also take time to become clear is whether there will be any lasting damage to the deposit-taking element of Guernsey’s financial services sector.

Many of the licensed institutions here exist simply to collect money and pass it on. Northern Rock (Guernsey) was a case in point. And if ‘upstreaming’ is as a result to be further restricted, what effect will that have on the value to parent banks of offshore subsidiaries?

The likelihood is that there is more fallout to come from this affair.