declaring another dividend. Cheques are expected to be in the mail by tomorrow.

A further three cents, or $12-million dividend is being paid to the creditors of Mentor Insurance Company in liquidation, bringing the total paid to 63 cents on the dollar, approximating $263 million.

And liquidator Charles Kempe of Ernst & Young Bermuda is confident that another five cents on the dollar, worth about $20 million, will be paid out eventually.

He said yesterday: "We have assiduously and successfully collected the company's receivables against a market background where in the last ten years, there was a bigger fallout in terms of business failures in the reinsurance market than has ever been seen before.

"We still have approximately $20 million in receivables, which is at the rocky end of the market. The debtors who owe us the last $20 million are amongst those who are probably the most reluctant, and in some cases, the most unable to pay.

"Squeezing what's left to be had out of the tail end of these receivables is something that we have left to do. We do not intend to set any deadlines by which we will fold our tent, because we don't want any of these debtors to think that we are going to go away at any stage and relax our efforts.

"We intend to collect everything that this company is owed. We have no intentions of letting any debtors off the hook.'' Mr. Kempe and fellow liquidator, Nigel Hamilton of Ernst & Young London, are continuing with an astonishing success -- a success that could never have been predicted back in June 1985, when Mentor was put into liquidation.

Mentor was established here in 1968 by parent, Ocean Drilling & Exploration Company (ODECO) of New Orleans. When it went bust, 1003 creditors claimed $970.3 million.

Liquidators concluded net liabilities, with rejections, reductions, security, discounting and set-off, at $419.2 million. Initial estimates were that creditors would receive in total some 25 cents on the dollar.

It now looks like they will get about 68 cents to the dollar with another pay out planned later. It has been a direct result of hounding efforts of the liquidators to get reinsurers to pay what they owe.

This week's distribution of about $12 million comes after the company's committee of inspection just seven months ago sanctioned a pay out of $20.5 million, the third payment to creditors.

The Mentor liquidation has cost more than $77 million, which has included huge expenses in litigation against ODECO, reinsurers and certain officers of the company. Litigation expenses alone have exceeded $21 million.

Mr. Kempe said: "This case, by a large measure, is the most significant reinsurance failure that Bermuda has ever seen. Hopefully, we won't see another one like it.

"I think that the Bermuda regulatory system, the courts, the accounting and legal professions have discharged themselves very well and shown a good result in taking care of this part of the business cycle.''