Hold strain CB gov. tells CLICO policyholders

CLICO is still in a financial bind and policy holders will have to wait even longer to get their money.

And Central Bank Governor Ewart Williams told reporters Wednesday that if investors create a run, the company could be liquidated with policy holders getting as little as 15 cents to the dollar.

CLICO owes policy holders about $17 billion. Williams told reporters that since the insurance giant's crash last year CLICO has been unable to dispose of its assets to meet that commitment. About $12 billion in unsold assets remain unsold, he said.

The government of Trinidad and Tobago has helped the company with cash and bonds amounting to $5 billion.

But he said this has not solved the problem for the company and so people who want to cash for their policies will have wait a little longer.

CLICO is a subsidiary of CL Financial, which was headed by Lawrence Duprey, who has now been relieved of his responsibilities at the conglomerate.

CL assets include Home Construction, which has been hit by a depressed real estate market. Another CL subsidiary, Methanol Holdings, had languished because of low commodity prices and drop in world demand.

Williams acknowledged that policy-holders have a legal right to demand their money but said such demands could lead to liquidation in which case policy-holders would lose.