40,000 Hong Kongers have bought Lehman-related investment products through banks, with the total outstanding value of the products estimated at HK$20.

Hong Kong legislators on Monday accused regulators of failing to monitor banks that sold billions of dollars worth of Lehman Brothers-backed bonds whose value is in doubt after the U.S. investment bank failed.More than 40,000 Hong Kongers have bought Lehman-related investment products through banks, with the total outstanding value of the products estimated at HK$20.2 billion (US$2.6 billion), according to figures provided by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.Hundreds of disgruntled investors have protested recently.Billions of dollars in souring debt forced Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., once the fourth-largest investment bank in the U.S., to file for bankruptcy last month amid the world's worst financial crisis in decades.Last week, the Hong Kong government announced a scheme under which local banks and distributors of Lehman-backed bonds would buy back the products at a value to be decided on.