British Treasury to help Equitable victims

LONDON, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- The British Treasury is ready to admit it was partially responsible for lost investments tied to failed investment firm Equitable Life, sources said.

A year ago, an official inquiry said the Treasury painted a "wholly misleading picture" of the risks involved with investing in Equitable, The Daily Telegraph reported Wednesday.

Now, however, sources said the Treasury is about to announce it will set up a commission to determine how much it should repay investors for their losses.

More than a million investors lost up to 50 percent of their savings, but the Treasury will word its announcement carefully to avoid admitting responsibility that could lead to larger compensation checks, the newspaper said.

A government inquiry determined that Equitable failed after "a decade of regulatory failure" during which the Treasury should have warned investors their funds were at risk, the Telegraph reported.