The following is a timeline of the Icelandic financial crisis which began in earnest in mid September 2008. The combined assets of the three largest Icelandic banks amounted to ten times the country's total gross domestic product (GDP) at the time of their collapse. Two-thirds of the banks liabilities were denominated in a foreign currency. When the world's credit markets dried up, the banks were unable to refinance their loans and the government, as a lender of last resort, was unable to offer backing to the privately owned banks.
