The investor compensation scheme run by the Central Bank has received claims from 1,900 clients of W&R Morrogh, the Cork stockbroking firm which collapsed in April.
A spokesman for the receiver, Mr Tom Grace of PricewaterhouseCoopers, said the number was significantly less than had been expected. Mr Grace, appointed at the request of the Bank, estimated that up to 3,000 of Morrogh's 9,000 clients could have valid claims against the scheme.
A spokesman for Mr Grace urged investors to come forward before the scheme, which is operated by the Investor Compensation Company Ltd (ICCL), closes to Morrogh clients on December 20th.
The scheme is intended to provide a quick payout for small investors who may be owed money.
If they do not participate, they will have to wait until the receivership is concluded, which could take years, before they get a dividend or share of the proceeds.
"The receivership may well have a dividend but this is a number of years away and the value of such a dividend is impossible to estimate at this stage," said Mr Grace. Under the scheme, claimants can receive 90 per cent of their net loss or €20,000, (£15,751), whichever is less.
Once claims are verified, they may be paid out by the ICCL, which can be recompensed later on a pro-rata basis from funds allocated to the claimants by the receiver once the receivership is completed. Many of Morrogh's clients may not be aware that they should make a claim, according to the spokesman.
Any investor who does not hold share certificates for stock bought through the firm should make a protective claim, he said, adding that contract notes from the stockbroker do not count as share certificates.
"A forensic reconciliation process has been ongoing for over six months and there is a distinct possibility that there will be shortfall in a number of lines of stock," he said. It is not possible at this stage to say which clients will be affected and Mr Grace may have to ask the court to decide how the shortages are borne.
"Clients who are concerned about their accounts should be in correspondence with the receiver and ICCL, if they have not done so already, said the spokesman.
Many of the company's clients would have had significant sums of cash on short-term deposit with the company and also needed to make a claim.
"Most clients' cash claims will be covered by the scheme," according to the spokesman.
Morrogh went into receivership in April with an estimated shortfall of £5 million.
The firm collapsed after Mr Stephen Pearson, its junior partner, lost millions trading financial futures.
The figure was put at £3.2 million when Mr Grace was appointed but sources close to the company subsequently said the figure was substantially larger.
Mr Alex Morrogh, the senior partner and 60 per cent owner of the brokerage, has been assisting Mr Grace.
"While significant resources have been devoted to an investigation of the affairs of W&R Morrogh, problems are still being identified and it may well be the case that certain clients have not come forward with their claims to the receiver," said the spokesman.
