Lehman’s Europe wing demands $100B

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Bill Radke: It’s been almost a year since Lehman Brothers went bust. The anniversary’s about two weeks away. And it’s not only Americans who remember. This morning, Lehman’s European subsidiary is demanding the parent company pay its continental creditors $100 billion. From London, Stephen Beard reports.

Stephen Beard: When Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. a year ago, the bank’s overseas empire fell apart. All Lehman’s foreign subsidiaries were cut adrift. They’re now separate, bankrupt entities. And they’ve had to join the line along with other outside creditors demanding money back from the parent company.

Liquidators for the British arm of Lehman Brothers think European creditors are owed more than $100 billion. Sorting this one out won’t be easy, says Justin Urquart-Stewart of Seven Investment:

Justin Urquat-Stewart: In this very murky world of corporate finance, particularly as you look through the dust of this collapsed entity, it’s going to be very difficult to unpick who actually has the rightful claims to these monies.

He says former British employees of Lehman Brothers certainly feel they have a rightful claim. Just before the bank crashed, the parent company moved $8 billion out of London to the U.S., leaving British staff unpaid. All claims against Lehman have to be filed within three weeks.

In London, this is Stephen Beard for Marketplace.