NINETY-EIGHT per cent of all claims relating to the collapse of Cork stockbroker WR Morrogh in 2001 have now been certified, with some €7.5 million in compensation paid out.
According to the annual report of the Investor Compensation Company Ltd (ICCL), in the year to July 31st, 47 claims for compensation relating to the failure of the stockbroker, including rejected claims, were certified, bringing the total number of claims now dealt with to 2,583. Only 45 claims were outstanding at the end of July. The ICCL has reduced its estimate of compensation payable from €8.5 million to €8.1 million.
According to the ICCL, which compensates eligible investors of failed investment firms, all claims related to Money Markets International Stockbrokers Limited (MMI), which collapsed in 1999, have now been dealt with, and compensation in excess of €700,000 has been paid out.
Since the collapse of WR Morrogh, there have been no new failures under the scheme, and this has allowed the ICCL to continue to build up reserves against future risks of default. In the year to July 31st, reserves increased to €24.6 million, up from €5.2 million the previous year. Annual contributions from about 4,300 member firms amounted to €4.6 million.
ICCL chairman Jim Bardon noted that the outcome of the Department of Finance's intended review of the adequacy of the ICCL's investor compensation limit, which currently stands at 90 per cent of eligible loss up to a maximum of €20,000, "could intensify the challenges facing the ICCL in the event of a future failure".
