Spain lawyers seek tailor-made Madoff deals
Spain lawyers seek tailor-made Madoff deals
Tue Feb 3, 2009 6:56pm GMT MADRID, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Lawyers for Santander (SAN.MC) customers affected by the alleged Bernard Madoff fraud said on Tuesday they are seeking tailor-made solutions for their clients from Spain's biggest bank.
"I think Santander's response has been timely and my hope is that after seeing who has accepted its offer and who has not, the bank offers a tailor-made solution for each client. That would be fantastic," the head of Cremades & Calvo Sotelo, Javier Cremades, told journalists.
Santander said last week it would compensate all individual clients who suffered Madoff-related losses through the issuance of 1.38 billion euros in preferential shares with an annual coupon of 2 percent.[ID:nN27464121]
For Cremades, Santander's offer is a commercial agreement based on a method of compensation "which depends on when you want to convert it into cash".
"If you wait for 10 years and you become a loyal client of the bank, you will get back in full your initial investment. If not, and if you need the money now, you will probably only recover about 10 percent," Cremades said.
Santander, the euro zone's largest bank, has said its customers have exposure of 2.3 billion euros to Madoff through Optimal, with the lion's share in Latin America.
Cremades & Calvo-Sotelo have recommended to their clients that they speak to Santander and ensure they fully understand the bank's proposal before making a decision.
The clients have until Feb. 5 to decide on whether or not to accept Santander's offer, the lawyers said, but the bank has denied the existence of the deadline.
Cremades & Calvo-Sotelo plan to meet with Santander on Feb. 6.
On Monday, some of Santander's clients asked a U.S. court to halt the bank's compensation plan, saying it falls far short of a bigger potential payout. [ID:nL2159820]
(Reporting by Jesus Aguado; Writing by Judy MacInnes; editing by Simon Jessop
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