WASHINGTON, DC – September 5, 2014 – The Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) today issued the following statement in the wake of the decision by the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission not to pursue additional legal appeals following the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upholding the District Court decision that Stanford International Bank CD Investors do not meet the definition of “customer” under the Securities Investor Protection Act (SIPA).
SIPC President Stephen Harbeck said: "While SIPC has always had great sympathy for the people who purchased the Certificates of Deposit issued by the Stanford International Bank, the statute that SIPC administers does not address the losses of these victims.
As always, SIPC continues to focus on our core mission: protecting customers against the loss of missing cash or securities in the custody of failing or insolvent SIPC member brokerage firms. We will continue to work within the mandate of the Securities Investor Protection Act to protect customers in this manner."