Isle of Man Today

Tony Brown announces new cabinet to take affect from 1st April.

Liquidator lodged a petition to allow extension to 28 days required by law to validate proof of debt - granted.
Only 6500 proof of debts received (1500 liquidator, 5000 DCS) - 4500 outstanding
Not clear if Deemster ruled that those who had not submitted Proof of Debt by August 15th will be entitled to catch up payments (although he agreed there was a strong argument for that)

Some hostile comments from IOM residents follow a reasonably factual article about DAG's application for costs in opposing the SOA.

COLLAPSED bank Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander (IoM) has been put into liquidation.
In the High Court today, Deputy Deemster Andrew Corlett granted a winding up order on the grounds that the bank is unable to pay its debts as they fall due.

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Joint provisional liquidator Mike Simpson, of PricewaterhouseCoopers, who is now deemed official receiver, said KSF (IoM) cash recovered so far totalled some £160 million and creditors could expect an initial dividend of 14.5 per cent.

The bank collapsed on October 8 last year, leaving thousands of depositors owed more than £840 million.

FSC chief's 'astronomical' pay award slammed in Tynwald

TAXPAYERS' cash totalling £94 million would be required to fund larger early payments to Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander depositors.

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Details of the early payment scheme emerged in the House of Keys this week as Treasury Minister Allan Bell was quizzed over whether the banks were fully signed up to part fund the planned scheme of arrangement.

In a written reply to a question from David Cannan (Michael), Mr Bell said the maximum contribution of each bank per year was set at a limit of £350,000 over a period of less than three years.

Mr Bell told the Keys there was 'agreement in principle' from the banks but that if in 'the worse case scenario' they failed to confirm their support, then 'clearly the scheme would fall' and the depositors' compensation scheme (DCS) would be triggered instead.

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Long-ish report of Tony Brown's performance at the TSC meeting yesterday...

Includes the following:

Mr Brown replied that the Isle of Man was well-regulated and transparent and savers should be aware of the depositors' compensation scheme which 'has served us well'.

The Chief Minister was also asked whether depositors were right to seek redress from the UK government.

He replied: 'We are responsible for our own affairs and we accept that.'

MORE than half of the Island's collapsed Kaupthing depositors would get all their money back by the summer under proposals outlined in the High Court today.

But Deputy Deemster Andrew Corlett expressed misgivings with the so-called 'scheme of arrangement' that was proposed as an alternative to a liquidation of the bank.

He said there were 'fundamental issues' that needed to be addressed as a 'matter of urgency' and if these could not be resolved it 'may be as well to press on with the well-trodden path of liquidation rather than prolonging matters' with a 'scheme that may well not work'.

He agreed to adjourn the winding up petition for a further 21 days until February 19 - a third of the time requested by the Treasury - to 'bring the issue to a head'.

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ON January 29, the High Court will hear further representations from affected parties in the Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander debacle, including the IoM Government. At that time, the court is expected to rule on the future of the life/ retirement savings of thousands of Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander Isle of Man depositors. The court will also rule, de facto, on the future of the financial services industry in the Isle of Man.

In the past few days, the states of Finland and Norway have announced that they will insure that Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander savers in their respective countries will receive access to 100 per cent of their deposits. Neither of these nations is known as financial services centres, as is the Isle of Man.

This stands in sharp contrast to the IoM Government, which has yet to fully accept and act to fulfil its responsibilities to protect the funds of KSFIOM depositors.

As an ex-pat working in the Middle East, I opened my account at KSFIOM not because I had a desire to deal with Kaupthing Bank in particular, but because it was a 'safe' Isle of Man bank. Like many other depositors, I had faith in the honesty, integrity, expertise, and fine reputation of the Isle of Man financial services industry.
If the IoM Government does not do the right thing by KSFIoM depositors, as have the governments of every other country in which Kaupthing Bank operated, what will happen to the reputation of the IoM financial services industry? In business, as in other aspects of life, reputation and trust are everything.

The funds that many of us KSFIOM depositors need to meet our daily expenses have been frozen since October 8 of last year. Yet the Isle of Man Government has yet to step up, as other governments have done, to ensure that KSFIOM depositors' regain access to their funds, without loss. Can anyone in the financial services or government of the Isle of Man not foresee the devastating effect that significant loss to KSFIoM depositors will have on the IoM financial services industry?

The internet provides the means for several thousands of KSFIoM depositors to mount a sustained, global campaign to inform people everywhere of the loss of our assets on deposit in the Isle of Man, should that become necessary.

Many of us, impoverished by the loss of our life/retirement savings, will have plenty of time on our hands in which to ensure that others do not make the same error in entrusting their assets to the Isle of Man.
Any proposal for resolution of the KSFIoM crisis must see that depositors receive access to their funds without loss. Anything less may well mean the end of the financial services industry in the Isle of Man.

As January 29 approaches, please contact your authorities and urge them to put forth a proposal that will ensure that the people of the Isle of Man and KSFIoM depositors can move ahead together into a future based on continued faithfulness and trust.

KAUPTHING depositors are losing patience with the Manx Government and claim a massive injection of public money – working out at £6,870 per taxpayer – is needed to avoid 'looming Armageddon'.

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The Action Group statement said depositors were getting 'weary of hollow promises of progress'.

It added 'Not only is the future of over 10,000 ordinary savers at risk but so is the credibility of the IoM banking sector and the whole financial services industry that surrounds it.

'The sooner the IoM authorities wake up to the looming Armageddon on their horizon the sooner they may start treating the depositors of KSF (IoM) with the respect they are due.'

The statement said the depositors were now turning their focus on the roles played by KSF's directors in the disaster, particularly those of John Cashen and former chief minister Donald Gelling, who also held key posts with the Island's financial regulators.