Hong Kong banks, led by state-owned Bank of China (Hong Kong), have agreed to pay aggrieved retail investors at least HK$6.3bn ($813m) in a government-brokered attempt to resolve a heated dispute over the sale of structured financial products.

The controversy over the so-called Lehman Brothers minibonds, which went sour after the US investment bank collapsed in September, sparked a protest movement in the territory. BoC accounted for about half of all minibond sales.

Under an agreement negotiated with the Securities and Futures Commission, Hong Kong's market regulator, BoC and 15 other banks will repay an estimated 29,000 minibond holders 60 per cent of their money. Investors aged 65 or older will receive back 70 per cent of their original investment.