people signed up before it was even advertised! The sold-out session will focus on residual value insurance (RVI) and is being presented by Tony Forster, CEO of Britannia International Group and senior vice president, underwriting for R.V.I. Guaranty Co., Ltd. and Tom Orofino, founder of RVI Associates L.P.

Residual value insurance indemnifies banks and lease financing institutions against an unpredictable drop in the value of an asset at a specified future date.

The breakfast seminar's target audience includes brokers, underwriters and accountants and is scheduled for two hours Wednesday morning.

Mr. Forster, who said he was not surprised by the overwhelming support, added yesterday that if further interest was demonstrated, a second seminar may be scheduled.

He began to concentrate on asset residual value (and other guaranty) insurance 16 years ago, after introducing his captive experience from the American Risk Management Group in Bermuda and the US to British risk managers in 1977.

Mr. Orofino was vice president at Bankers Trust and executive vice president and chief credit officer at American Financial Group before spending some years up to 1994 as senior vice president in charge of capital equipment financing at Diamond Lease (USA), Inc., a Mitsubishi company.

He then founded RVI Associates L.P., which has become the world's largest dedicated provider and pre-underwriter of RVI for financial insurance carriers supporting the class.

Mr. Forster said, "Generally speaking, this interesting and unusual product is purchased by lessors of equipment who are totally at ease with the residual levels of their booking in the normal course of their business.

"They are only looking for a more favourable accounting treatment that they receive when they have passed even just a small part of that residual guaranty to a third party with an acceptable financial standing, which would usually be an insurer.

"It is because of accounting regulations, the way they operate. That's what Tom and I will explain during the seminar, how that accounting manipulation works.'' Mr. Forster said historically, there has only been one dedicated insurer of this business, and RVI Guaranty Co.,Ltd. was basically its successor, with some of the same people involved.

"There are one or two other insurers,'' he said, "who are dabbling in it.

And certainly some of the Bermuda insurers, like XL, and maybe others elsewhere, have been looking into it.'' With regard to the seminar, he said, "Some people who will attend will include representatives of local insurers. But brokers who attend may have clients who they might feel might be helped by them better understanding the product and by knowing what market capacity there might be.'' BUSINESS BUC