NORTH MOVE:A GOVERNMENT pension fund in the North intends to continue its fight to win millions of pounds in compensation against Lehman Brothers Holding Inc despite the bank's demise.
The Northern Ireland Local Government Officers Superannuation Committee manages the pension fund for public sector workers in the North. It is one of five funds that had launched a class action in the United States against Lehman Brothers.
The £3.1 billion superannuation committee and the £3 billion Lothian Pension Fund in Scotland and three American pension funds were among the other co-lead plaintiffs in an action lodged against Lehman Brothers at New York’s southern district court three months ago.
Further papers which will reflect the change in circumstances at Lehman Brothers and enable the action to proceed are expected to be lodged today in court.
The class action against Lehman Brothers revolves around the pension fund group’s claims that it incurred millions of pounds in losses because of the former US investment bank’s investments in mortgage-backed securities and its subprime exposure.
In the original complaint documents, it alleged that from September 13th, 2006, to June this year, Lehman Brothers and several former senior officers at the firm downplayed the potential risks of its collateralised debt obligations and related securities business portfolio. The Northern Ireland pension fund bought 197,700 Lehman shares from September 2006 to March this year.
No figure has been disclosed for the total amount the Northern Ireland pension fund is seeking in compensation but it is estimated to be in the region of £8 million.
