Client Money Update - Client Money Bar Date Announcement - 13 November 2018

On 30th October 2018 the High Court granted an Order which enables the Joint Administrators to impose a bar date by which all client money claimants must make their claims.  Our previous update about the client money bar date Order can be found here.

The Court Order may be viewed here and the associated FCA direction may be viewed here.

This update constitutes a bar date notice for the purposes of the FCA direction and the Court Order.

THE CLIENT MONEY BAR DATE WILL BE 13 DECEMBER 2018 (the “Bar Date”).

1) Claim Form

The Bar Date will be the “last date for proving” under the terms of the Order; accordingly, client money proofs (in the form of a “Client Money Claim Form”) must be lodged before the Bar Date.

Save for Existing Claimants, any client who has not already submitted a Client Money Claim Form and does not submit a Client Money Claim Form by the Bar Date will not be entitled to share in the proposed distribution.

Existing Claimants are those clients who have received “Existing Claimant Certificates”.  The Joint Administrators have sent “Existing Claimant Certificates” to the current holders of all client money entitlements which the Joint Administrators believe exist based on LBIE’s books and records, except where they do not know the email address, fax number or address of the current holder of the client money entitlement.

Existing Claimants are not required to file a Client Money Claim Form in order to be paid in the proposed distribution in respect of their Existing Claimant Amount (and any further client money sums which the Joint Administrators believe that clients are or may be entitled to receive in addition to their Existing Claimant Amounts, known as “Client Surplus Entitlements”), but Existing Claimants must confirm their payment details by the Bar Date in order to be paid (see “2) Payment Details” for further information). Existing Claimant Amounts are set out in the Existing Claimant Certificates.

It is the intention of the Joint Administrators to make a final distribution to client money clients within the period of 6 weeks from the Bar Date.

The Client Money Claim Form may be downloaded here. You will need to submit a Client Money Claim Form if:

• you have not received an Existing Claimant Certificate but you believe that you have a client money entitlement, or
• you have received an Existing Claimant Certificate, but you believe that you are entitled to more than the Existing Claimant Amount which is stated in your Existing Claimant Certificate.

The consequences of not submitting a Client Money Claim Form by the Bar Date are:

• if you have not received an Existing Claimant Certificate and you do not submit a Client Money Claim Form by the Bar Date, then LBIE and the Joint Administrators will be entitled to make a final distribution of client money without regard to any claim you might have to client money; or
• if you have received an Existing Claimant Certificate and you believe that you are entitled to more than your Existing Claimant Amount and you do not submit a Client Money Claim Form by the Bar Date, then LBIE and the Joint Administrators will be entitled to make a final distribution of client money without regard to any claim you might have in excess of your Existing Claimant Amount.

2) Payment Details

Regardless of whether they have previously accepted payment(s) in respect of their client money entitlements, all clients who have not confirmed their payment details since 1 July 2018 must do so by the Bar Date.

“Payment details” means your electronic settlement instructions or current address to which LBIE can send a cheque. The Joint Administrators intend to make distributions of client money in US dollars, therefore your settlement instructions should be for a US dollar account if you have one. Please contact LBIE at clientpositionresponses@lbia-eu.com in order to confirm your payment details.

The consequences of not confirming payment details by the Bar Date are as follows.

• If a client has not confirmed its payment details since 1 July 2018 and does not do so by the Bar Date and the client’s total remaining client money entitlement, together with any Client Surplus Entitlement, is at least USD 25, then:
  • LBIE intends to pay the value of the client’s remaining client money entitlement and/or any Client Surplus Entitlement into the Insolvency Service’s Unclaimed Dividends Account in order that the client may claim such amount from the Insolvency Service’s Unclaimed Dividends Account at any time; and
  • upon such payment into the Insolvency Service’s Unclaimed Dividends Account, the interests in client money of any such clients will cease.
• If a client has not confirmed its payment details since 1 July 2018 and does not do so by the Bar Date and the client’s total remaining client money entitlement, together with any Client Surplus Entitlement, is less than USD 25, then:
  • LBIE intends to distribute client money without regard to the client’s remaining client money entitlement and/or Client Surplus Entitlement; and
  • upon the Bar Date, the interests in client money of such clients will cease.

(Please note that “Client Surplus Entitlements” are referred to in the FCA direction to LBIE as “income entitlements”.)

If your remaining client money entitlement (together with any Client Surplus Entitlement) is paid into the Insolvency Service’s Unclaimed Dividends Account and you wish to claim the amount from the Insolvency Service’s Unclaimed Dividends Account, you should contact the Insolvency Service at: +44(0) 121 698 4268 (telephone) / Customerservices.eas@insolvency.gsi.gov.uk (email).

Queries

If you have any questions about this update please contact the Communications and Counterparty Management Team by emailing clientpositionresponses@lbia-eu.com