 On the same day, he announced that an early general election would be held on 9 May 2009, in which he would not be a candidate.The end of Geir's tenure as Prime Minister was marked by the dramatic financial crisis which engulfed Iceland from October 2008.In less than a week, the country's three major commercial banks (Glitnir, Landsbanki and Kaupthing) all had to be taken over by the government as they were unable to roll over their loans.