Editor's Note
Massive amounts of money were transferred from the coffers of Lehman prior to filing for bankruptcy. Where did the money go? A similar procedure was used in the The Bear Stearns bankruptcy.
________________________________________
Lehman Unit Shrank $400 Billion Before Bankruptcy
By Linda Sandler
Sept. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.'s brokerage unit lost more than $400 billion in assets in the months before its parent filed for bankruptcy protection, according to the trustee overseeing customer accounts.
Lehman's holding company filed for bankruptcy Sept. 15 claiming $639 billion in assets, using four-month-old data. The wholly owned brokerage unit shrank to less than $100 billion in assets from $500 billion ``a few months ago,'' according to a Sept. 19 court statement by James Giddens, the trustee overseeing the settling of Lehman brokerage customer accounts by the Securities Investor Protection Corp.
The loss in value was caused by ``changes in the market,'' according to Giddens, a partner at law firm Hughes Hubbard & Reed, who spoke at a bankruptcy court hearing in Manhattan. The runoff may indicate Lehman's customers, including many hedge funds, canceled and closed out trades as they began to doubt the firm's ability to navigate the credit crunch, bankruptcy analysts and lawyers said.
``There was the proverbial run on the bank'' at Lehman, said Martin Bienenstock of the law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf, who is advising clients including Walt Disney Co. on recovering their money from Lehman. There was a similar capital flight from Bear Stearns earlier this year, he said.
Most of Lehman's pre-bankruptcy assets were securities, according to its balance sheets. Lehman said on Sept. 10 that the consolidated gross assets of the firm stood at $600 billion and net assets at $311 billion. The difference between net and gross is the so-called matched book, which is overnight lending or securities pledged for overnight borrowing.
Bear Stearns
Bear Stearns, once the fifth-biggest U.S. securities firm, sold itself to JPMorgan Chase & Co. in March after customers and lenders fled because of speculation the company faced a cash shortage. Lehman was the fourth-largest investment bank before its bankruptcy.
Giddens didn't return calls requesting comment on his statement. SIPC President Stephen Harbeck said he'd seen the brokerage's latest asset totals and couldn't remember the numbers, which ``we don't need to know to do our job'' of settling the 630,000 customer accounts.
Mark Lane, a Lehman spokesman, didn't return a call and an e-mail seeking comment.
Customer accounts at the Lehman Brothers Inc. brokerage that aren't on the balance sheet total about $138 billion, Lehman's bankruptcy lawyer Harvey Miller said in court on Sept 19. The trustee's figure of about $500 billion for brokerage assets before the runoff corresponds to a balance sheet published in 2007, which calculated assets at $478 billion.
The case is In re Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., 08-13555, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
To contact the reporters on this story: Linda Sandler in New York at lsandler@bloomberg.netYalman Onaran in New York at yonaran@bloomberg.net <mailto:yonaran@bloomberg.net>*
________________________________________
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Centre for Research on Globalization. The contents of this article are of sole responsibility of the author(s). The Centre for Research on Globalization will not be responsible or liable for any inaccurate or incorrect statements contained in this article.
To become a Member of Global Research
The CRG grants permission to cross-post original Global Research articles on community internet sites as long as the text & title are not modified. The source and the author's copyright must be displayed. For publication of Global Research articles in print or other forms including commercial internet sites, contact: crgeditor@yahoo.com
www.globalresearch.ca contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to our readers under the provisions of "fair use" in an effort to advance a better understanding of political, economic and social issues. The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than "fair use" you must request permission from the copyright owner.
For media inquiries: crgeditor@yahoo.com
© Copyright , Bloomberg, 2008
The url address of this article is: www.globalresearch.ca/PrintArticle.php?articleId=11101
개편이전의 자유게시판으로 열람만 가능합니다.
Société Générale역시 너무나 석연치 않았지..
조심조심 조회수 : 1,218
작성일 : 2008-11-26 01:11:22
IP : 211.55.xxx.158
5 개의 댓글이 있습니다.
1. 소심소심
'08.11.26 1:17 AM (203.229.xxx.213)반가워요~!
근데 전 영어는 까막눈이어요. ㅠㅠ
간단 요약이라도 좀...2. ...
'08.11.26 1:57 AM (211.55.xxx.158)3. ...
'08.11.26 2:09 AM (211.55.xxx.158)한마디로 이스라엘로 빼돌렸다는 거죠.
Société Générale의 경우는 더 이상하죠.
도무지 말이 안돼는 상황이고..아무도 처발받지 않고.4. 베를린
'08.11.26 4:13 AM (134.155.xxx.220)^^
les trois vieilles....
그 돈은 여기로 분산되었다가 어디로 빠져나겠겠죠... 알고도 안 잡는...
* Crédit du Nord
* OnVista Bank (Boursorama)
* Veritas SG
* Newedge Group
* Hanseatic Bank
* SG Equipment Finance (GEFA)
* Société Générale Securities Services
* ALD Automotive
* ECS
* PEMA
마이클 클레이튼이 맡은 사건을 한 번 터뜨려주길 기다리는...5. 소심소심
'08.11.26 7:20 AM (203.229.xxx.213)저는, 김정태씨는 아닐듯 한데요... 저도 정확히는 모르지만.
일단 나이가 안 맞고요 ... 김정태씨의 행보와는 약간 차별성이...
제 남편도 아닌것 같다고 하더군요. ^^
☞ 로그인 후 의견을 남기실 수 있습니다
N