WASHINGTON, D.C. – February 19, 2009 – Stephen Harbeck, president of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), which maintains a special reserve fund authorized by Congress to help investors at failed brokerage firms, and Irving H. Picard, the court-appointed trustee for the liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (BLMIS) of New York, NY, issued the following joint statement today:

"On Friday, February 20, 2009, Irving H. Picard, the Court-appointed trustee for the liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, will preside over the First Meeting of BLMIS Creditors. This meeting will be held at 10 a.m. EST in the Auditorium of the United States Bankruptcy Court.

Due to the logistics and potential burden on Creditors of attending this meeting in person, the Trustee will be providing a listen-only audio facility for this meeting, via a toll-free dial-in telephone number for interested parties.

U.S. callers should dial 1-877-419-6600 (toll free). Those outside the U.S. should dial 719-325-4864. (All international callers must use this toll number, and will have to add the appropriate country code.) Callers will be asked by an operator to identify the call and must state that they are calling for the ‘Madoff First Meeting of Creditors’ to ensure they are placed in the correct call."