SIPC Applauds Lehman Trustee On Milestone 100 Percent Return Of Securities Customers' Property

WASHINGTON, June 7, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- When the distributions commencing today to former securities customers of Lehman Brothers Inc. (LBI) conclude, all securities customer claims will be 100 percent fulfilled, according to James W. Giddens, Trustee for the liquidation of LBI. The Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) today applauded the hard work of Trustee Giddens and his attorneys in reaching this major milestone. With the return of all LBI customer property, no advances from the SIPC Fund will be necessary to make LBI securities customers whole.

This also means distributions from the LBI estate will stand as the largest return of property in history to former customers of a broker-dealer following a bankruptcy and liquidation proceeding.

SIPC President Stephen Harbeck said: "SIPC is very pleased with the Trustee's significant achievement in this historic case. The return of 100 percent of securities customers' property in the largest SIPA liquidation proceeding ever, and the prospect of future distributions to general creditors, including former employees, pension funds, financial institutions, banks, and Lehman affiliates, shows that the SIPA program continues to work well. We also recognize the significant efforts of U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge James Peck, and the cooperation of Lehman Brothers International (Europe) (LBIE), and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (LBHI) in reaching this important milestone."

Full details on the distributions can be found at http://www.lehmantrustee.com.

ABOUT SIPC

The Securities Investor Protection Corporation is the U.S. investor's first line of defense in the event of the failure of a brokerage firm owing customers cash and securities that are missing from customer accounts. SIPC either acts as trustee or works with an independent court-appointed trustee in a brokerage insolvency case to recover funds.

The statute that created SIPC provides that customers of a failed brokerage firm receive all non-negotiable securities - such as stocks or bonds -- that are already registered in their names or in the process of being registered. At the same time, funds from the SIPC reserve are available to satisfy the remaining claims for customer cash and/or securities held in custody with the broker for up to a maximum of $500,000 per customer. This figure includes a maximum of $250,000 on claims for cash. From the time Congress created it in 1970 through December 2012, SIPC has advanced $ 2.1 billion in order to make possible the recovery of $ 120.7 billion in assets for an estimated 770,000 investors.

SOURCE Securities Investor Protection Corporation