Wednesday, September 01, 2010

What was it about Lehman?

Another rich millionaire is crying- - - all the way to the bank.

HuffingtonPost:


...Former Lehman Chairman and CEO Richard S. Fuld Jr. said in prepared testimony that Lehman did everything it could to limit its risks and save itself.

"Lehman's demise was caused by uncontrollable market forces, and the incorrect perception and accompanying rumors that Lehman did not have sufficient capital to support its investments," Fuld said in his testimony. He said Lehman proposed to federal regulators measures that could have buttressed the firm but "each of those requests was denied."

Unfairly, Fuld said, other financial firms later received the government assistance that Lehman was denied. Lehman was "mandated" by regulators to file for bankruptcy on Sept. 15, 2008 -- the only firm ordered to do so, he said....

No other bank or investment firm wanted to touch Lehman Brothers.  Why?


CNN:
Failings by Lehman Brothers executives and its auditor led to the bank collapse that unleashed the worst of the financial crisis, according to a report by a court-appointed investigator.

Lehman "repeatedly exceeded its own internal risk limits and controls," and a wide range of bad calls by its management led to the bank's failure, says the report, authored by examiner Anton Valukas....

.....In particular, the examiner's report criticizes Lehman's failure to disclose its use of an accounting device called "Repo 105" to make its books look better. Lehman used this device to strip some $50 billion of undesirable assets from its balance sheet at the end of the first and second quarters of 2008, instead of selling those assets at a loss, according to the report.....

Sounds like lies and greed were involved.  Would you work for a company that was selling worthless investments to the unsuspecting public and investors? This is all about ethics.