Lawmaker Seeks to Speed Return of Lehman Assets
A Washington lawmaker is trying to persuade his colleagues in Congress to weigh in on the liquidation of Lehman Brothers, a year after the once-pound Wall Street firm imploded.
Gregory W. Meeks, a Democrat who represents New York’s Sixth Congressional District, has introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the administrators of Lehman’s bankruptcy in the United States and Britain to establish an international framework to ensure the swift return of customer claims. In particular, Mr. Meeks’ measure focuses on $50 billion in hedge fund assets held at Lehman’s prime brokerage unit in London.
Concurrent resolutions are not presented to the president and do not have the force of law, but are meant to express the sentiments of Congress.
PricewaterhouseCoopers is overseeing the liquidation of the London-based unit, called Lehman Brothers International Europe, or LBIE. In July, the accounting firm and several creditors reached an agreement to expedite the repayment of the assets held in the prime brokerage unit, but Britain’s high court rejected the settlement.
In the resolution, Mr. Meeks said the personal liability imposed on PricewaterhouseCoopers by British law has slowed down the process of returning assets to Lehman’s customers. He suggests the proper authorities in Britain consider relieving the accounting firm of personal liability in the LBIE case.
Several hedge funds, including Ramius, Highbridge Capital Management, GLG Partners, Newport Global Opportunities Fund, Amber Capital and Harbinger Capital Partners, have had their accounts frozen since Lehman filed for bankruptcy last year.
Several funds have asked members of Congress over the past several months to intervene on their behalf with British authorities.
“Despite the goodwill efforts by our members, the trustees of LBIE and others to find a solution for over a year, we are still on square one,” said Stuart Kaswell, the general counsel of the Managed Funds Association, which represents the hedge fund industry. “What is overlooked here is that this represents $50 billion of assets that belong to pension funds and institutional endowments who need the liquidity locked up in LBIE more than ever.”
The assets frozen in LBIE include stocks, bonds, derivative contracts and other securities owned by hedge funds, insurance companies and other investors. Mr. Meeks’ resolution also requests that the Securities and Exchange Commission dedicate sufficient resources to protecting investors, including those owning $150 billion worth of bonds, in Lehman’s bankruptcy case in the United States.
“Not only have market losses occurred, but in Lehman U.K, the money is trapped,” said Tracy Maitland, head of Advent Capital Management. “Additionally, many school endowments are laying off teachers, and the return of their assets will go a long way toward helping them fund their historical levels of services.” -----------
An der Börse sind 2 mal 2 niemals 4, sondern 5 minus 1.
Man muß nur die Nerven haben, das minus 1 auszuhalten. |
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