Stock leasing was popular as an investment product in the 1990s. This involved investing in stocks with borrowed money at a time when stock prices had risen sharply for years. When the so-called “Internet bubble” burst in 2000 and prices plummeted dramatically, hundreds of thousands of Dutch people were left with a heavy debt.
In many cases they held the supplier Legio Lease responsible, subsequently taken over by Dexia. It should have better protected investors. A collective scheme had already been introduced in 2007, but many victims were not satisfied with it.
In its assessment, the court refers to a recent Supreme Court ruling. In recent years, the highest court has ruled in a number of such cases on the question of when an investor is entitled to compensation and how high that compensation should be.
Investors in cases where a decision has now been made were advised at the time of entering into their contract by the intermediary Spaar Select, who did not have the correct authorisation. According to the court, the bank knew or should have known. And that is why compensation is in order.
