Iceland's prime minister says recovery cost is $6B

[October 28, 2008]  HELSINKI, Finland (AP) -- Iceland's prime minister says his country needs about $6 billion in loans to recover from the financial meltdown.

Geir Haarde told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Iceland will need $4 billion in addition to a $2 billion loan package recently announced by the International Monetary Fund.

Iceland's banking system has collapsed amid the global credit crunch. The country's currency, the krona, has lost half its value since January. Banking transactions to and from the island nation in the middle of the North Atlantic have seized up, leaving its population of 320,000 virtually stranded.

[Associated Press]

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