EMAG

The independent action group for current and ex Equitable Life policyholders, funded by contributions.

Equitable Members Action Group

Equitable Members Action Group Limited, a company limited by guarantee, number 5471535 registered in the UK

Search
Best Media Stories: 15/11/2005 - Coverage of EU Committee of Inquiry announcement.

Coverage of EU Committee of Inquiry announcement.

The formal announcement from the European Parliament Press Office reads as follows:

"Inquiry committee on Equitable Life:

The Conference of Presidents of the political groups has decided in principle to set up a committee of inquiry into the insurance company Equitable Life. The draft mandate and the composition of this committee will be determined by the Conference of Presidents at its first meeting in 2006 and will be put to the vote at Parliament's plenary session of January in Strasbourg.

The committee of inquiry will look into "matters linked to the insurance company Equitable Life and in particular allegations concerning the absence of relevant rules and of the implementation and application of EU legislation in the field of insurances, resulting in heavy losses (savings and investments) suffered by over a million Europeans". http://www.europarl.eu.int/news/expert/infopress_page/008-3797-346-12-50-901-20051215IPR03796-12-12-2005-2005--false/default_en.htm


European Parliament to hold Equitable inquiry

Rupert Jones
Friday December 16, 2005
The Guardian
http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,16781,1668618,00.html

The European parliament is to carry out a formal investigation into the Equitable Life debacle after party leaders backed calls for a "committee of inquiry," it emerged yesterday.

More than 200 MEPs had signed a petition proposing an investigation after a million people saw the value of their retirement savings and investments slashed. The parliament's "conference of presidents" has decided to back their request.

The official report into what went wrong highlighted failures which contributed to investors losing out to the tune of £4bn, according to campaigners.


MEPs to probe government role in Equitable Life crisis

Fri 16 Dec 2005
JOHN BOWKER DEPUTY CITY EDITOR

EQUITABLE Life is set to become the subject of a fourth lengthy investigation after the European Parliament decided to launch its own inquiry into the group's near collapse five years ago.

Party leaders in Brussels have agreed to look at the circumstances surrounding the demise of the former mutual - specifically the role played by the UK government. The inquiry follows the Labour-commissioned report by Lord Penrose, another by the parliamentary ombudsman, and a third by the Financial Services Authority (FSA).

The move comes after heavy lobbying by the Equitable Members Action Group, which says the UK reports into the scandal were stacked in favour of the government. The group's general secretary, Paul Braithwaite, said this was a final chance to win justice for investors. "The other inquiries were set up by the British government to be kicked into deep field," he said. "Lord Penrose wrote a very thorough report, but he was precluded from apportioning blame or recommending compensation."

The European Parliament said it must first set up a committee, and would then reconvene in January to discuss its full remit. The investigation will then have to be endorsed by a parliament vote before it can proceed. The body has launched investigations into UK affairs before, including a lengthy inquiry into Labour's handling of the foot-and-mouth crisis four years ago.

Equitable closed its doors to new business in December 2000 after the House of Lords forced it to honour guarantees on policies it sold in the 1970s and 1980s. The decision left the firm with a £1.5 billion pensions black hole, leaving many investors in financial ruin. It sold its ongoing business to Halifax the following year, focusing on staying afloat and honouring existing policies. It then slashed bonuses and imposed high penalty charges on those clients who tried to withdraw their money.

The group administers its policies through a number of closed life funds - currently attractive acquisition targets. Chairman Vanni Treves said two weeks ago that he had received several takeover approaches for all or part of the business.

The European Parliament inquiry comes just months after Equitable Life dropped its court case against auditors Ernst & Young - which it had originally tried to sue for £1.7 million. It has also dropped its claim against 15 former board members it had accused of failing to act early enough to deal with the problems before its collapse.

The FSA commissioned a report to look into its own role in the collapse, but could only examine the period following the regulator's creation at the start of 1999.

Three times a subject

EQUITABLE Life has been the subject of three previous reports into its demise.

The Financial Services Authority was first out the blocks, followed by the highest profile of the three, the Penrose Report. Neither provided any joy for investors - although Penrose was critical of the government's role in the scandal - and the third report - by the parliamentary ombudsman - yielded little further.

http://business.scotsman.com/banking.cfm?id=2414292005


European Parliament to probe Equitable Life

Thu Dec 15, 2005 10:30 AM
http://investing.reuters.co.uk/funds/fundsArticle.aspx?type=pensionsNews&storyID=2005-12-15T103335Z_01_NOA537891_RTRUKOC_0_FINANCIAL-EU-EQUITABLE.xml

STRASBOURG, France (Reuters) - The European Parliament is set to open a formal investigation into mutual insurer Equitable Life after its near collapse in 2000 in a major scandal.

"The party leaders decided on Wednesday evening to create a formal committee of inquiry into Equitable Life," a spokesman for the liberal ALDE group said.

The leaders will meet again in January to discuss the remit of the inquiry which will have to be endorsed by full parliament before it can start on its work.

Equitable closed its doors to new business in December 2000 after the House of Lords forced it to honour guarantees on policies it sold in the 1970s and 1980s.

It sold its ongoing business to bank Halifax in 2001 and concentrated on staying afloat and honouring policies bought by its 600,000 customers, by slashing bonuses and imposing high penalty charges on those clients who tried to withdraw their money.

Its policies are administered through a number of closed life funds, which have recently become attractive acquisition targets for the likes of Resolution and others, which seek to make money out of them by squeezing costs and attempting to boost the investment returns on the assets they manage.


Proinsias De Rossa MEP welcomes Inquiry into Equitable Life

Labour MEP for Dublin, Proinsias De Rossa, has welcomed yesterday's decision of the European Parliament's Conference of Presidents to establish a Committee of Inquiry into the case of citizens, as many as 6,500 of whom are Irish, who were robbed of their savings due to the crisis at insurance company Equitable Life.

"I support the petition which Equitable Life investors have submitted to the European Parliament's Petitions Committee and I am delighted that their case will now be fully investigated by a European Parliament Committee of Inquiry. Equitable Life petitioners have a dreadful story to tell. In July 2001 the values of the policies of more than one million European citizens dropped by 16% removing more than €5 billion from their pension expectations as a result of failures by financial services regulation in the UK.

"I have been contacted by representatives of the 6,500 Irish people whose pension values have been seriously reduced due to the Equitable Life scandal. These people had invested their savings in what seemed to be a properly regulated company and assumed it was covered by European law. They had no way of knowing that it was being so badly run that their future financial security was at risk, and that the UK authorities would effectively wash their hands of them. As one constituent wrote "We understood the fund to be "ring-fenced. I have been a sales person for them & a client of theirs. Result? I lost my job & I lost my life's savings. Another said "Irish investors like myself who lost money in this company and who received pensions that were far less than they should have been have little hope of redress...."

"The Irish Government should now appoint an Investigator who will represent Irish citizens' interests in this matter and work with the European Parliament's Committee of Inquiry.