The Bank of Ireland is this week threatening foreclosure on a Chassene Fund, which could impact adversely on several Bnei Torah in Eretz Yisroel. About thirty of them who bought Traders Endowment Policies partly funded by the Bank of Ireland five years ago for the purpose of building up chassene funds for their children risk losing 80% to 90% of these funds due to a decline in market conditions. Since the loan facilities showed a marginal default, the Bank has decided to call in the loan unless it is considerably increased by a large injection of funds.
A group of askonim in North London who maintain a good relationship with the Bank have devised a plan to save the Chassene fund but this would involve obtaining documents and information not available within the Bank’s time frame.
The amount of money that the Bank of Ireland would claw back by foreclosing on the fund is relatively small. If additional contacts were suggested in time, it’s possible that the Bank of Ireland could be persuaded to hold back on an action that while entirely legal seems unnecessarily punitive and hardly financially meaningful.
Gedolei Yisroel have appealed for Anglo-Jewry and other kehillas across Europe to influence the Bank to implement the agreement to save unnecessary losses.
Anyone with contacts with the Bank of Ireland or Bristol and West should call them
or notify the Askonim. The public should write to the addresses below to appeal to the Bank of Ireland to protect the TEP overseas clients from the effects of severe financial loss and to implement the agreement discussed.
IMPORTANT NUMBERS
Annie Nolan, Bank of Ireland Head of Business and Corporate Banking Support, Fax. 44-203 201 6961, email [email protected]
Bow Bells House, London EC4M 9BE c.c. Governor of the Bank of Ireland, Patrick Molloy
Head Office, Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2, Ireland, Fax 003531 6044103 email [email protected]
Bank of Ireland 0207 254 5344
Askonim fax no 0870 126 8055
(Jewish Tribune / YWN)
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One Response
Speculatiors lose money when markets crash, and these people were clearly speculating (put in a little money, take out a lot). If a deal sounds “really good”, it is probably “too good to be true”. If you invest in anything that is using leveraged funds (buying on margin), you get wiped out if the markets have a substantial decline, and that is apparently what happened. Begging a bank to restore one’s speculative losses is a bit silly, especially since there are millions of people who lost more than just funds for a fancy wedding (e.g. their homes). The people who made the loan (depositors of the banks, some of whom are uninsured) aren’t going to be impressed. Remember that investors have lost trillions of dollars in all countries.
One should remember that a wedding requires a ring, a kesubah, and a glass to smash – the rest is optional.