Jón Thorsteinn Jónsson, Chairman of the Board, has notified Byr's Board of Directors that he feels compelled to step down temporarily from the board of the savings bank until its next annual general meeting. Jón Kristjánsson, who has been Vice-chairman of Byr's Board of Directors, will take over Jónsson's duties as chairman. The announcement that Jónsson has submitted to the bank's board stated that the reason for the decision was that companies closely related to him are now involved in negotiations with creditors. The negotiation process will require all of his attention and time, and for these reasons he deems it unsuitable to work on the board of a financial company at the same time. Jónsson has been Chairman of the Savings Bank's Board of Directors since 2004. He had previously been a member of the bank's board since 2001. Byr's Board of Directors expresses its complete trust in Jón Thorsteinn Jónsson and its gratitude to him for his good work for Byr, as well as building up the savings bank in the previous months' turbulence, and wishes him success in the tasks lying ahead. For further information, contact Ragnar Z. Gudjónsson, CEO of Byr Savings Bank, Tel. 575 4000.