Sorry, forgot to include the link on previous post:

http://www.ksfiomdag.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=150:the-misery-continues&catid=44:press&Itemid=102

Press Release 3 October 2009
The misery continues for depositors in KSFIOM

One year on and depositors in Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander Isle of Man have only just received up to 24.8% of their money back. Although the Isle of Man finally allowed its own Depositors Compensation Scheme to be triggered after many months of legal wrangling and attempts to avoid its responsibilities, this only covers depositors with up to £50,000 in the bank (there are circa 3,000 people, mainly pensioners, with over this amount) and does not give anything to over 1200 life company bondholders who had placed deposits with KSFIOM on industry recommendation for security. Compare this with UK depositors who received their money back in full regardless of the amount.

On 8 October 2008 Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander (Isle of Man) had its banking licence withdrawn by the FSC on the Isle of Man. In the months preceding this event, the directors of KSFIOM on the advice and recommendation of the FSC and the FSA, the two financial regulators, placed £532million (over 50% of the bank’s assets) in KSFUK. This is contrary to standard UK and EU banking practice and meant that KSFIOM was totally dependent on the fate of a bank that we now know to have been on the FSA ‘at risk’ list.

Despite repeated requests noone has ever given a clear account of what happened, when and why. Two former directors of KSFIOM continue to be Deputy-Chair of the FSC and Chair of the IPA respectively. The FSC blames the FSA. The FSA blames the FSC. Depositors are stuck in the middle without their money suffering much hardship and distress and very little prospect of their money back. Timescales of up to 6 years are being mentioned by the liquidators leaving many older depositors with the prospect that they may not be here to witness this event. This situation looks set to continue unless someone, somewhere speaks up for the truth, accepts responsibility and recompenses depositors in full.

Regulatory failure by both the FSA in London and the FSC in The Isle of Man is the main reason for the demise of KSFIOM and the predicament thousands of British citizens still face. Even the directors of KSFIOM blame the regulators (notwithstanding that one of them holds a senior position in that regulator) stating through their lawyers:

“…the placing of monies with KSFUK …was a decision that was carefully taken on behalf of the company after full consultation with and as required by the FSC, which in turn liaised with the FSA”.

So why are the KSFIOM British depositors the only ones left suffering one year on due to the perceived negligence and failures of established regulatory bodies who are there to ‘help retail customers achieve a fair deal’?

Depositors are still waiting for the FSC and the FSA to explain who did what, when and why. Persistent requests for the facts have been stonewalled. The misery for depositors continues…


Many individual depositor case studies, both direct depositors and life company bondholders are available on request from KSFIOMPress AT googlemail.com

Hi again,

Just a note to say a huge 'thank you' to everyone who has emailed their stories so far - it's very much appreciated.

We're still keen to hear from others - especially UK-based savers with KSF IoM or Landsbanki Guernsey - who would be willing to speak to the press about their experience.

We'd also like to hear about the reasons why you chose an offshore account.

If that sounds like you, please don't hesitate to drop me a line at the email address below.

Many thanks.

Thanks 'bellyup' - document received. I'll make sure Clare gets to see it.

Without disclosing obvious personal details, do you have a particular story to tell? How have you been coping since the collapse of the Icelandic banks?

Hi 'bellyup',

You can send it to me at the email address below. I'll make sure Clare gets to see it.

HI Clare

I would like to send a pdf file to you but dont know how.

sasteev - drop me a line at the email address below with your details and I'll have someone contact you.

I would be delighted to talk to you and have lots to say. How can we talk directly?

Hi Clare

Thanks for bringing our plight to the foreground once more. I like many fellow depositors in Kaupthing Isle of Man feel that I am forgotten. I have lost 25years of hard earned savings that were put aside for us to live on since as we worked abroad for a foreign company NO Conpany pension was provided. We made our own provision and deposited the funds in UK jurisdiction of the Isle of man believing it to be safe. I would have been better off opening the high interest deposit bond that my HSBC bank was suggesting - it would now only be worth about 70% of my deposit but I would still have my money and it would be my choice to wait until that bond grew back to the funds deposited. Now having taken the NO risk option we have not had access to our deposit for 1 year and are unlikely to see 70% back over 5 to 6 years. Our life has been devastated and we can no longer look forward to a comfortable future that we though we had secured for ourselves. All we did was save and we have been penalised by the very government that is suppossed to help us the UK government. They are not telling the whole truth when they say that "not one British saver lost a penny" in the crisis last year. We did and so did many others. A political solution has to be found but someone will have to loose face and NO politician will ever do that!

Hi Clare Thanks for thinking of us! We are indeed the forgotten victims. Almost exactly one year on from the demise of our bank, we are still fighting for the return of our money. To mark the anniversary on 9 October, are planning an event in Derbyshire (home of the great British Building Society that sold us out to Iceland) . The KSFIOM Depositors Action Group would be very pleased to discuss our situation with you and are always looking for opportunities to speak to the press. Thanks again.

At the Labour Party Conference today Gordon Brown, speaking of the tsunami that hit the banks last autumn, said:"not one British saver lost a penny". Not true. Thousands of expat British taxpayers, many retired, lost their life savings & pensions when KSFIoM collapsed through the crass stupidity of its directors and the IoM Financial Supervision Commission.

Depositors have mounted a campaign with over 30 videos on www.youtube.com under: DON'T BANK ON THE ISLE OF MAN, warning of the risks of doing so, risks that The Times endorses. Google now has 3 pages devoted to that heading, & the message is spreading the world through Twitter. Depositors will not give up the fight for justice until they have back ALL the money they entrusted to a bank that conned them into believing that their savings were 100% guaranteed. For more information visit http://www.kaupthingiom-dag.co.uk

Jim

Hi all

we know it's nearly a year since the collapse of the Icelandic banks and that those of you who had money in offshore accounts are still battling to get your money back. We're planning on raising the awareness of your plight again as in many ways you're the forgotten victims of this crisis, so please let us know how you're getting on and what your views are on the situation. Also, if you'd be willing to talk the the press about your ongoing battle could you also let us know.

Thanks

Clare

KSFIOM goes into liquidation 8 long months after it was brought down by the collective actions of the Icelandic IOM , British Government and IOM authorities amd still the desperate depositors are left in limbo.

The silence on the part of HMG ihas been complete no MP has got any sort of answer from MR Darling and now they are all embroiled in their own expenses disgrace.

The only one to have any sucess is that Wigan MP acting on behalf of MR Dave Whelan who has along got his 50 million out of HMG ( to save jobs in Wigan) one law for one and another for others.

The reat of the depositors mainly elderely or retired struggle and suffer and no one listens.

PRESS RELEASE 18 JANUARY 2009

Who knew what when?
Who did what when?
Who can do something now?

Simple questions but complicated answers it seems…at least when Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander (Isle of Man) KSFIOM is the subject of the conversation.

Three months on and these simple questions have yet to be answered.

British and Irish Governments have been keen to protect their financial services sectors, recognising the crucial role they will play in the road to recovery from the recession we find ourselves in.

But where is the IOM Government in all this?

A few basic statistics should make the answer very simple for them (1):

80,058 people live on the Isle of Man
41,793 are economically active
Insurance, banking, finance and business services are the biggest employers on the island employing 20% of all men in employment and 27% of all women in employment.
There is over £50billion on deposit on the island.

When a local bank loses its licence due to the actions of the UK Government, the IOM Government, the FSC, the FSA and the local directors of the bank you would think that direct action would be taken to rectify the situation as soon as possible….not in this case.

The only people currently paying for this are the 10,800 unfortunate depositors.

Other Governments have been quick and decisive in responding to their banks in crisis, guaranteeing deposits and ensuring ongoing protection for the industry sector.

In contrast, the IOM Government still can’t decide how its own Depositors Compensation Scheme might work. Good job that wasn’t evident in May 2008 when the island’s status as Best International Finance Centre was announced.(2) At the time it was noted that the judges cited its "transparent and flexible regulation" as a key factor.

Transparent and flexible may not be two adjectives depositors would use to describe a regime that procrastinates in times of crisis and fails to act to save its reputation, its depositors or even the local islanders’ livelihoods.

There is a hole of £550m to fill – massive, unthinkable in the old world of just a few months ago, but today when compared to the current UK Government’s second tranche payment it looks more like pocket money.

This outlay would be the equivalent of £6,870 per islander and this may sound a lot but think of it this way….

Compared with the estimated £33,000 per taxpayer (3) that Gordon Brown’s latest scheme is costing UK taxpayers, is £6,870 so much to pay to save a reputation and economy that stands on the brink of permanent disaster?

While the UK is committing more than two-thirds of its annual GDP to preserve employment in this sector, such a move would cost the IOM just half of its GDP. And since this represents the maximum loan required, if one assumes that at least half of the £550m will be returned from KSFUK, the figure reduces to just 25%.

If that’s what it takes to preserve this key IOM employment sector one has to say to Alan Bell and the rest of the IOM government ministers wrestling with this crisis - is this so much to ask?

The message to the IoM politicians is clear…..do the right thing for islanders’ jobs and depositors’ money. Preserve the economy of the IOM and loan KSFIOM the money it needs to repay depositors in full. The alternative is unthinkable for all.

Then the Best International Finance Sector can get back to what it does best.
And 10,000+ people can get on with their lives.

(1) 2008 Digest of Economic & Social Statistics, Economic Affairs Division, Isle of Man Treasury
(2) Daily Telegraph 9 July 2008



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Here it is....

WHILE ISLE OF MAN IS BUSY SAVING REPUTATIONS, DEPOSITORS LEFT TO WATCH AS OTHER TERRITORIES QUICKLY ENACT RESCUE STRATEGIES

Despite yesterday's affidavits from key Isle of Man (IOM) government players and their hired associates - charged with sorting out the Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander (KSFIOM) debacle for the good of the island and supposedly the good of the depositors - it seems that time is running out to find a solution to save the life savings of over 10,000 depositors. As Anglo Irish (including the Isle of Man branch) turns to the Irish Government for rescue and received immediate support, it seems that no one is interested in securing the future for KSFIOM depositors despite the home-grown IOM events that influenced the fate of this once thriving bank.
Despite goodwill, effort and confidentiality by those representing the KSFIOM Depositors Action Group, they have yet to see anything to convince them that the suggestion of an alternative to liquidation is little more than an attempt to prevent the Depositors Compensation Scheme (DCS) being triggered. The activation of the DCS would not only cost the IOM Government and local banks dearly but would expose the scheme for what it is; namely an inadequate and outdated guise of protection that contains so many provisos and matters open to legal interpretation that the Government is refusing to explain clearly how it would work if it were to be put into action.
Furthermore the damage this could cause to the reputation of the Isle of Man banking sector at a delicate time both in terms of the world's economy and the island's offshore status, with the publication of the Foot Report due in March, could hardly be worse.
Depositors' focus is now turning to the roles played by the bank's directors in this disaster, specifically John Cashen and Donald Gelling. Both Mr Cashen and Mr Gelling have held high office within the Isle of Man's Financial Regulator which may appear to conflict with their duties as bank directors. Despite assurances from the regulator that no conflicts exist, depositors are seeking clarification of the roles played by these directors in the weeks leading up to the bank's collapse.
John Aspden, Chief Executive of the FSC was quoted* in October 2008 as saying "Mr Cashen was on the board with KSF and the way of accommodating that was that he took no involvement whatsoever in any decisions in the Commission involving KSF. He properly absented himself." The same article went on to say that "Mr Aspden explained that the 'defensive measures' involved ensuring that KSF deposits were placed with the bank in London and not Reykjavik".
If nothing untoward happened, why have the directors of the bank been surprisingly silent throughout this disaster, despite being jointly responsible with the FSC for the decision to move over 50% of the bank's assets to the UK, resulting in over £500m being trapped outside the IOM regulator's jurisdiction without any protection. Could Mr Aspden explain exactly how these actions have served to protect the interests of depositors?
Given the size and scale of this episode for the Isle of Man regulatory authorities, has Mr Cashen continued to take "no part in the FSC's dealings with the bank"? And if so, would it not make sense to ensure any Vice-Chairman of the FSC is able to fulfil this role properly given this is potentially one of the island's biggest financial disasters?
Depositors have now instructed their lawyers to obtain copies of the minutes of meetings and discussions held between the FSC, the FSA and presumably KSFIOM so as to get a clearer understanding of what led to this catastrophic decision and to clarify exactly who was present at these meetings.
Three months on from the bank's collapse the IOM authorities seem little closer to putting together a comprehensive solution to the crisis facing depositors. Procrastination and internal wrangling on the Isle of Man appear to have hindered any progress and depositors are getting weary of hollow promises of progress.
It's time for the authorities and key players on the Isle of Man to stand up and be counted. The Irish Finance Minister today said: "If a bank fails, the damage to the country, the reputational damage to the country, in trashing deposits and refusing to honour obligations, would be enormous". Does the IOM Government not share this view?
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 KSFIOM with the respect they are due.