Interview
Picking Up the Pieces
Stephen Harbeck and Irving Picard On The Lehman and Madoff Cases
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The SIPC by the Numbers
Membership: As of December 31, 2008, there were 5,208 members (a net decrease of 227 from the prior year).
Total SIPC Fund: As of December 31, 2008, the fund was valued at $1.7 billion.
Total Distribution: In its 39-year history, the SIPC has distributed $160 billion in cash and securities, of which $159.7 billion was from broker-dealer liquidations and $323.8 million was from the SIPC fund.
Proceedings:
- Since its inception in 1970, the SIPC has completed 308 proceedings out of the 322 that have been filed.
- Over the last 10 years, the average number of annual proceedings has been five.
- In 1972 there were a record 40 proceedings.
- The first year in which there were no proceedings was 2007.
- Last year, 2008, saw five proceedings instituted, three of which were small liquidations. The other two—Lehman Brothers and Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities—were of unprecedented size and scope.
- Of the total 322 proceedings, criminal and/or administrative actions were initiated in 283 cases.
SIPC Protection Proceedings 1971–2008. Source: 2008 SIPC Annual Report.
Member Assessments:
- These generally vary from year to year. Since inception assessment revenues have totaled $736.9 billion.
- Historically, during three time periods assessments were based upon a percentage of each SIPC member’s gross revenues: 1971–1977, 1983–1985, and 1989–1996.
- In the SIPC’s very first operating year (1971) annual assessments were one-half of 1%, plus an initial assessment of one-eighth of 1% of each member’s 1969 revenues.
- From 1996 to 2009 annual assessments were only $150 per member firm (which was equal to the assessment level of early 1978).
- Effective April 1, 2009, assessments changed to one-fourth of 1% of each member’s net operating revenue (with a $150 minimum).
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