“I believe that before too long, new information will come to light which shows just how difficult a position the Icelandic government has been in over this issue,” said Icelandic Finance Minister Steingrimur J. Sigfusson.

Sigfusson made this comment when asked about the former Dutch financial regulator who this week told media that his Icelandic counterparts had simply lied to him outright every time he and his colleagues asked whether Icesave was running smoothly and was well-financed.

The Icelandic FM told Visir.is he has been sworn to secrecy over several pieces of important information crucial to the Icesave issue. The information is, however, expected to become public when the Althingi Finance Committee report is published at the end of this month.

Sigfusson said that when the information comes to light, it will be apparent how difficult it could be for Iceland if the Icesave issue ends up being decided in court.

Iceland's prime minister is due to meet EU officials in Brussels to discuss how to break the impasse over a planned payout to the UK and the Netherlands.

Johanna Sigurdardottir is embroiled in a row over deposits lost when the online bank Icesave collapsed.

The UK and Dutch governments, which compensated savers, want Iceland to repay 3.8bn euros (£3.3bn; $5.4bn).

Iceland plans to hold a referendum on the repayment on 6 March, but the government may reach a different deal. Opinion polls suggest that a majority of Icelandic voters would reject the repayment plan.

The dispute has delayed International Monetary Fund (IMF) help for Iceland, which Reykjavik needs to shore up its stricken economy.

The country's parliament voted for a referendum on the Icesave bill after President Olaf Ragnar Grimsson vetoed the repayment to the UK and the Netherlands.

Opponents say the repayment plan forces Icelandic taxpayers to pay for bankers' mistakes.

Icesave collapsed in October 2008, affecting thousands of UK and Dutch savers who held deposits with the bank.

The dispute has also overshadowed Iceland's application to join the EU, which was submitted in July. Iceland's economic crisis persuaded many of its politicians that it would be better off inside the 27-nation bloc.

Reuters: Wellink: Iceland knew about problems before bank collapse

*UK, Netherlands lent Iceland $5 bln after Icesave failure

*Referendum set for March 6 on repayment law

AMSTERDAM, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Dutch central bank President Nout Wellink accused Iceland's government on Thursday of lying about the health of the country's banks before their collapse in October 2008.

Wellink, in televised testimony before a Dutch commission investigating the credit crisis, said he had spoken to the head of Iceland's central bank in early September 2008.

At that time, Wellink said, he was told that the Icelandic central bank had warned its government about six months previously about potential dangers for the banks.

"I've been hoping for a long time that they just didn't see it, but to be honest after the words of my colleague that it was several months before that he had warned them, I thought they have lied to us," Wellink said.

The effects of the collapse of Iceland's banking system in October 2008 rippled round the world. One bank, Landsbanki, had an online arm, Icesave, that attracted hundreds of thousands of customers in Britain and the Netherlands by offering rates of more than 5 percent on deposits.

The two countries lent Iceland $5 billion to compensate customers who lost their savings when Icesave collapsed, but the terms for repayment of that loan have caused a big political dispute.

Iceland's parliament passed a repayment law last August, but the British and Dutch governments rejected it because of its restrictions. Iceland's parliament passed a new law in December but the president refused to sign it, triggering a national referendum on the law, set for March 6. (Reporting by Harro ten Wolde and Ben Berkowitz, writing by Ben Berkowitz, editing by Tim Pearce)