BANKRUPT BANKER
Natixis, France's fourth largest bank, set its maximum indirect exposure at about euro450 million
Monday 15 December 2008
A statement by the investment bank said it made no direct investments in hedge funds managed by Madoff. However, it said that some of its clients' money was invested in funds managed by ``first class custodians'' which in turn entrusted those securities to Madoff's investment securities company.French banks foresee nearly euro1 billion ($1.33 billion) in potential losses as indirect victims of Wall Street money manager Bernard Madoff's fraud, with Natixis on Monday estimating its exposure at up to euro450 million ($600.3 million).Madoff was arrested Thursday in what prosecutors say was a $50 billion scheme to defraud investors.Natixis, France's fourth largest bank, set its maximum indirect exposure at about euro450 million, adding that the ``impact of this exposure will depend both on the degree to which assets can be recovered and the outcome of the bank's efforts to recover the assets,'' mainly through judicial means.Societe Generale said its exposure is negligible, below euro10 million ($13.34 million). However, the euro zone's largest bank, BNP Paribas, has estimated its risk exposure to hedge funds managed by Madoff at up to euro350 million ($466.9 million).
In a brief statement Sunday, BNP Paribas said it has no investment of its own in Madoff's hedge funds but ``does have risk exposure to these funds through its trading business and collateralized lending to funds of hedge funds.''
