Neil MacTaggart

Bahamas-based Leadenhall Bank & Trust Ltd., which was closed down by regulators seven months ago, may be insolvent by more than $11 million. That was the glum news for creditors in the first report of liquidator Craig A. (Tony) Gomez on December 9, 2005. On paper, the bank had shareholders' equity of $1.6 million as of October 3, 2005, with assets of $29,864,139, including $20.4 million in cash, and liabilities of $28,235,807. “However my review has revealed that the balance sheet includes loans and past due credit card receivables totaling $6.6 and $6.3 million, respectively, and that both balances are either unsecured or inadequately collateralized,” stated Gomez in his report.

Leadenhall Bank & Trust Company Limited has had its bank and trust license suspended by the Central Bank of the Bahamas and gone into Receivership.The Central Bank did not go into details about the reasons for its actions in a public announcement yesterday but stated the measures were intended "to protect the interests of depositors".