SCMP:Lehman claims' bill HK$257m

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17 Dec 2008
Joyce Man Joyce Man and Paggie Leung

Seventeen banks have so far paid a total of HK$257 million to settle 616 claims brought by Hong Kong investors in financial derivatives which lost much or all of their value when US investment bank Lehman Brothers collapsed three months ago.

The figures were disclosed yesterday by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, which said banks were in the process of settling a further 1,000 claims involving investments of HK$429 million.

The authority did not disclose the amounts involved in individual settlements.

Last week, Democratic Party lawmaker Albert Ho Chun-yan said banks had paid HK$ 30 million in compensation to about 60 investors in financial products issued or guaranteed by Lehman Brothers.

The police commercial crimes bureau has received more than 5,000 complaints from investors.

The bureau had taken statements from 2,566 of the 5,184 complainants, the Democratic Party said after party lawmaker Kam Nai-wai met the head of the bureau, Chief Superintendent Chan Yiu-kwok, yesterday.

The bureau was seeking legal advice on whether any crimes may have been committed, Mr Kam said.

He expressed dissatisfaction with the speed with which the bureau was handling the cases, and claimed many of them had obvious evidence of criminality.

Some 43,700 Hongkongers invested HK$15.7 billion in derivatives linked to Lehman Brothers, which sought bankruptcy protection amid the global credit meltdown. Most bought minibonds – high-risk, credit-linked products which derived part of their value from the performance of complex underlying assets.

Many of those who bought minibonds claim bank staff mis-sold them as low-risk investments in wellknown companies.

The Monetary Authority has received nearly 20,000 complaints about Lehman Brothers-related products. It has referred more than 200 to the Securities and Futures Commission for investigation of possible misconduct by banks. It is still investigating another 3,700-plus complaints and is seeking more information about a further 11,072.