Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (fka LEHCQ)

[waman1]

News for 'LEHMQ' - (DJ Financial News: What If Lehman Survived? A -2-)
U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden says plans to continue paying a pension worth millions of dollars to Fuld are “unacceptable” and says the Government may “step in” to prevent its payment. He said: “The President has said that it is not acceptable and therefore it will not be accepted. It might be enforceable in a court of law, this contract, but it is not enforceable in the court of public opinion and that is where the Government steps in.”

March 20:

Analysts put Lehman Brothers on an “equal-weight” rating and say they expect the North American business to generate revenues of $3.1 billion in 2009. They say the outlook remains “extremely uncertain” for Lehman Brothers, but say the bank has the potential to take advantage of the disruption at rivals. They write: “Helping support revenue is the exiting of certain businesses by damaged investment banks, which no longer have the capital nor the risk appetite to compete effectively.”

March 27:

Lehman Brothers maintains its top-five ranking in U.S. debt underwriting for the first quarter, according to preliminary figures from data providers. The bank slightly improves its position in US equity underwriting to sixth, and maintains position as a top-10 global mergers and acquisitions adviser.

• April

April 9:

First-quarter profits beat all analysts’ forecasts as Lehman Brothers makes nearly $1 billion. Montag hails performance as “the most remarkable turnround” and says this marks “the shape of things to come”. Fixed income business is main driver of earnings, particularly flow trading. Montag says the bank is in “active hiring mode” for this business and will seek to grow its market share.

• May

May 7:

U.S. Government releases results of stress-testing for 21 large banks. Maiden Lane Corp is excluded from tests due to “the extraordinary nature of its operations”. However, Lehman Brothers Trading passes easily, along with Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan. Analysts say this was never much in doubt given that Lehman Brothers was separated from all of its major liabilities.

May 13:

Lehman Brothers raised to “overweight” rating by several analysts, one of whom says the bank is one of a group of “flow monsters” that are winning a disproportionate share of the investment banking business on offer, including a large share of the booming corporate bond new issue market.

They write: “In FICC JP Morgan, Goldman, Lehman Brothers, Deutsche and so on are gaining share ahead of the pack, based on our discussions. This could make the franchises better businesses than they were two years ago.”

• June

June 1:

In a move described by senior credit bankers as “staggering”, Lehman Brothers hires Deutsche Bank’s former global head of credit trading, Rajeev Misra, as global head of credit markets with a mandate to continue rebuilding the bank’s credit markets business. A Lehman Brothers spokesman refuses to comment on the size of his or anyone else’s bonus package and says compensation is a “private matter.” Questions are asked in the U.S. senate about “wholly inappropriate packages” being offered to Lehman Brothers staff.

June 22:

Financial News runs a feature titled “How Lehman Brothers came back from the dead and the improbable survival of the US investment banks.” The article looks at how non-U.S. banks, including Barclays and Nomura, have missed an opportunity to build investment banking businesses to rival those of U.S. firms.

• July

July 9:

London-based Goldman Sachs partner managing director Sanaz Zaimi joins Lehman Brothers as head of FICC sales for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Rumors circulate that Zaimi’s package is worth as much as $14 million a year, but a spokesman for Lehman Brothers says the figure is “wildly exaggerated.”

July 10:

Second quarter results show Lehman Brothers fixed income business has come close to producing record result for the first six months of the year. One analyst ironically notes that if a large investment bank had gone bust they would probably have easily beat the 2007 record on the basis of wider bid/offer spreads and less competition. He writes: “I bet Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan are wishing Lehman had actually been put into bankruptcy last year. If that had happened it is very likely they would now be making more money than they could ever dream of.”

July 11:

A group of Wall Street executives write an open letter to Geithner complaining of “uncompetitive behaviour” by “certain market participants”. The letter, which publicly becomes better known as “the Sulk from Sachs”, states that state-supported banks have been unfairly using taxpayers’ money to offer aggressive terms in foreign markets, including Europe and Asia.

July 13:

Montag writes a lengthy riposte in the Wall Street Journal’s comment section, saying Lehman Brothers must continue to act aggressively if it is to earn sufficient money to repay the Government and give taxpayers the best possible return. He writes: “The business of America is business. Lehman Brothers embodies this spirit and our staff will use every resource open and available to them to ensure that we maximise the substantial investment the US Government made in us 10 months ago.”

• August

Aug. 25:

Days after the Swiss Government makes more than $1 billion from the sale of its stake in UBS, stories emerge that U.S. authorities are considering the sale of several billion dollars worth of Lehman Brothers shares. The bank downplays the rumours, but says the Government remains committed to selling its holding “over time.”

Aug. 27:

Goldman Sachs is appointed global co-ordinator for the sale of a $2 billion stake in Lehman Brothers. Citigroup, JP Morgan and Merrill Lynch are appointed joint bookrunners. Goldman announces a launch date of Sept. 15.

• September

Sept. 13:

Crowds gather outside Lehman Brothers’ New York headquarters to protest against “bankers’ greed.” One placard makes the front page of every newspaper the next morning: “My Government gave these guys $7 billion and all I got was the sack.”

Sept. 14:

One-year anniversary of Lehman Brothers bailout. The most important participants, including Paulson, Fuld and all the major Wall Street bank heads meet for dinner in the executive suite at Lehman’s headquarters. Lloyd Blankfein, Jamie Dimon and John Mack leave early citing “other engagements.”

Sept. 15:

Lehman Brothers share sale closes four times subscribed, enabling Goldman Sachs to increase the offer price to $30. Underwriters share a fee pot of more than $100 million.

Web site: www.efinancialnews.com


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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 07, 2009 05:11 ET (09:11 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.- - 05 11 AM EDT 09-07-09