A Swiss court today granted a one-year moratorium to the International Credit Bank whose difficulties had rocked Israel’s and West Germany’s financial establishments, The Geneva court decided to entrust the management of the bank to a British fiduciary company. All assets will be frozen until Oct. 1975 though the bank will henceforth be able to carry out normal banking operations.
The court reportedly found that the bank, In which Jewish financier Tibor Rosenbaum is a major share holder, has sufficient assets to meet Its liabilities. The court also found that the bank was only suffering from a temporary shortage of ready cash. According to court sources the bank’s liabilities amount to 500 million francs (about $170 million) and are covered by real estate, long and medium term Investments and other property.
The row over the bank erupted after the Israel Corporation announced that its Director General, Michael Tsur, had Invested $8.6 million of Corporation money in Rosenbaum’s bank and Lichtenstein trust funds. The bank is due to reopen this week but money will not be returned to former depositors unless the custodian decides to do so. Under Swiss law, former deposits are frozen though small amounts might be released for “humanitarian” reasons. As assets are turned into cash, It is customary, however, for the management to return investments to investors.
Rosenbaum was reported to be highly optimistic as to the bank’s chances to resume normal operations and honor its former obligations within a few months. He hopes, according to bank sources, to obtain West German and Israeli financial participation in the bank and raise new cash capital.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
