NI public servants' pension fund sues Lehman

A NORTHERN Ireland Government pension fund has been named as the co-lead plaintiff in a potentially multi-million dollar case against the American investment bank Lehman Brothers Holding Inc.

The £3.1 billion (€3.9 billion) Northern Ireland Local Government Officers' Superannuation Committee (NIGOSC), which manages the pension fund for public sector workers in the North, is one of five pension funds seeking damages from the US investment bank. The NIGOSC and the £3 billion Lothian Pension Fund in the UK and three American pension funds are among the other co-lead plaintiffs against Lehman Brothers.

The Wall Street bank in common with many other leading American financial institutions saw its share price decimated when details of the sub-prime crisis first emerged in the US. On average its shares have fallen by around 60 per cent this year and in June Lehman Brothers posted a quarterly loss of $2.8 billion (€1.9 billion).

The pension funds group lodged a formal complaint against Lehman Brothers at New York's Southern District Court two months ago.

In the complaint documents they allege that over the period September 13th, 2006 to June of this year Lehman Brothers downplayed the potential risks of its collateralised debt obligations and related securities business portfolio.

The objective of the case being pursued by the pension funds group is to seek compensation for millions of pounds of losses which they allege they suffered as a result of investing in Lehman Brothers. The Northern Ireland pension fund bought 197,700 Lehman shares over a period from September 2006 to March of this year.

It has been suggested that the NIGOSC may now be seeking damages in the region of up to £8 million (€10.1 million) from Lehman Brothers.

Lehman Brothers has dismissed the action being taken by the pension funds group, it believes the claims for damages are without substance.

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times