Banks and officials resume meetings on Lehman fate The CEOs of Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Merrill Lynch & Co Inc, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Citigroup Inc were all at Friday's meeting, in a scene reminiscent of the 1998 bailout of hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management, two sources familiar with the situation said. With Long-Term Capital, major banks each contributed to a $3.65 billion bailout of the hedge fund, allowing it to be wound down in an orderly way.
This time, though, the capital of many top banks is already strained by the credit crisis, making them reluctant to fork over funds to help Lehman, whose problems are largely a result of bad bets on the mortgage market before the housing bust eviscerated the once lucrative business.