A LYING bullyboy, a complaisant management and overgenerous payouts in the late Eighties bring a once-eminent institution to near collapse. Another group of household names urges customers to put more money into an already underperforming investment. These are summaries of the week’s two important reports: Lord Penrose’s indictment of Equitable Life and the Treasury Select Committee’s investigation into endowment mortgages.
The response to both scandals is the usual “something should be done”. However, this is rather tricky as Equitable Life’s current board has done about everything in its power to revive the insurer. As we explain on pages 10-11, ahead lies a multiplicity of court cases, none of which is guaranteed to yield any money for investors.
If any cash is won, it will soon