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Lehman creditors facing 10-year wait
Danny Brierley14 Nov 2008
HUNDREDS of angry claimants descended on a creditors' meeting at the O2 Arena today to hear how $1 trillion of Lehman Brothers assets will be split up.
Lawyers and representatives of people and organisations with money tied up in the collapsed US bank were given details of when their funds are likely to be released and how much they will get.
At the moment it seems as though those funds are unlikely to be released any time soon, but administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers gave some details to the audience. An insider told the Standard that the meeting also included representatives from local authorities — some of whom have millions of pounds in pension funds at stake.
People with “significant hedge fund exposure” were also there, hoping to be given a clear indication of when Lehman Brothers stocks will be freed. The source said: “People want their money back and they want it quickly. The problem is with liquidity, and that affects everybody else in the chain. The current economic climate means people are more desperate than ever to get their money.”
The meeting was for LBI Europe — one of 200 Lehman Brothers divisions that existed across the world before its collapse nine weeks ago.
The audience also included Robin Drewett, a 65-year-old retired publisher with the £280,000 proceeds of the sale of his business tied up somewhere in the bank's intricate network of divisions. He was not allowed into the meeting, which he had heard about on the radio, because his money is said to be with a part of Lehman Brothers' portfolio not being handled by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
He and his wife Valerie are now waiting to hear if and when they will get their hard-earned money back.
She said: “It is a worry. Our biggest concern is not being able to get any clear information. We have to read newspapers and the internet very closely to find out what is going on.
“It appears that because our money is not with the specific companies PricewaterhouseCoopers is dealing with we cannot get it.
“But we don't even know where the money is. We invested through a third party, and we did not expect America's fourth-largest investment bank to collapse.”
There are many more like Mr and Mrs Drewett who face an uncertain future and an increasingly anxious wait.
PricewaterhouseCoopers is due to make a statement today which should go some way to easing those concerns.
Reader views (6)
The best example of Regulators Sleeping On The Job
- Ramesh Laxman, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, 24/11/2008 13:15
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Zgomer should check his facts, if he ever invests in a structured investment that is underwritten by an A rated bank which then undergoes an unprecedented collapse and he looses his money he probably won't feel so inclined to post a message that is purely driven the rhetoric of jealousy. He may be interested to note that Lehmans is being investigated by the CIA for bribing Standard and Poors for artificial ratings just prior to their collapse.
So invest in a low risk fund with a gaurentee from a bank that has faked its credit worthiness and watch it go up in smoke. Yes we all know that investments go up and down, they aren't supposed to dissapear.
Also the people in this article are not hedge fund managers, they are small people like you and me who have worked their whole life to see their hard earned money being robbed by a crooked company.
- Captain, London, London, 17/11/2008 21:05
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Oh well, the government is really encouraged this bunch of thugs!
- Zgomer, Preston USA, 16/11/2008 17:19
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When you put money into investments and not savings accounts, you are not guaranteed you will get it back. Nobody complained when they were making money hand over fist and they should not complain when it goes the other way. A good rule of thumb is--never invest more than you can lose. Who told these people this was a sure thing? It never was and never will be.
- Ruckus, Myrtle Beach USA, 16/11/2008 10:15
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I'll be amazed if there is anything left at all after PWC take out their 10 years of fees!!!
- Andy, London, 15/11/2008 14:20
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I was made redundant 4 years ago when my company was mis-managed into 'administration'. (I was owed thousands in wages)
I'm still waiting to receive the last of the money still held by the administrator (Deloitte), so a 10 year wait is probably accurate.
In the meantime the administrators (whether Deloitte or Price Waterhouse Coopers) are coining the creditor's money into their own pockets as administration costs and expenses !
Another bunch of financial gangsters encouraged by this Government !
- Cap, London, 15/11/2008 10:13
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