- Former President International of Bank of America appointed as CEO of Straumur-Burdaras

William Fall, former President International of Bank of America, is joining
Straumur-Burdaras Investment Bank (the “Bank”) as CEO. Fridrik Jóhannsson, who
has been the Bank's CEO since June 2006, will work closely with William over
the coming months to ensure a smooth handover. 

William Fall has been President International of Bank of America since 2001
where he had overall responsibility for all the Bank's activities outside the
US; he structured and built the bank's operations, which covered retail,
corporate, investment and transactional banking, in 18 countries. These
operations generated strong streams of revenues and ROE of more than 20 per
cent. for the bank, which is the second largest in the world. 

William joined Bank of America in 1995 and was responsible for several
operating units before his appointment as President International. Previously,
he worked for Westpac Banking Corporation and Kleinwort Benson. He holds a MA
in Natural Sciences from Cambridge University. 

Thor Björgólfsson, Chairman of Straumur-Burdaras, commented:

“I am delighted that William has agreed to join the Straumur-Burdaras team. He
joins the Bank with extensive experience from Bank of America in driving growth
in one of the world's largest international banks. His appointment is an
important milestone in Straumur-Burdaras's continuing transformation into an
internationally competitive investment bank with a strong platform in the
Nordic region. I am convinced that William is the right man to lead the bank to
its next stage of growth. 

The Board would also like to thank Fridrik for his important contribution to
the Bank's growth and strong performance to date, having developed a robust
platform for the Bank's international operations and leading it towards its
goal of becoming an international investment bank. The progress of
Straumur-Burdaras has been fast during the last year and nearly all of the
Bank's goals for the next three years, explicitly set forth in the last Annual
Report, will be reached in 2007. We are delighted that Fridrik has agreed to
help ensure a smooth handover.“ 

William Fall, commented:

“I am very pleased to join such a dynamic investment bank as Straumur-Burdaras.
Huge opportunities exist for the company: few investment banks in the Nordic
region have such a strong balance sheet on which to build future growth.  I
will continue to drive and develop the Bank's strategy and am looking forward
to being a part of the future story of Straumur-Burdaras.” 

For further information, please contact Jóhanna Vigdís Gudmundsdóttir
(johanna@straumur.net), Director of Corporate Communications. Mobile:  +354
8409133.