Comments on: Why Point Fingers on Lehman? http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2008/11/why-point-fingers-on-lehman/ Macro Perspective on the Capital Markets, Economy, Geopolitics, Technology, and Digital Media Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:39:14 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 By: gwtbc http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2008/11/why-point-fingers-on-lehman/comment-page-1/#comment-128908 gwtbc Tue, 25 Nov 2008 23:54:12 +0000 http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/?p=10931#comment-128908 Regarding Lehman: I wonder if they were dirtier than some of the other Wall Street firms and whether that had anything to do with a decision not to bail them out. Here on the West Coast there is a lot going on with an involuntary bankruptcy case involving a Lehman-SunCal venture filed in September. (A boatload have since been filed involving these two, but the first set involving McAllister Ranch, McSweeney Farms and Summerwind Ranch are fundamentally different. They were initiated by junior creditors and unpaid construction firms and are being heard separately from the 20-something that have followed.) The Chapter 11 trustee assigned to the case has filed a lot of documents questioning Lehman's conduct involving the loans it made, what happened to the money (of $320 mill made to the three projects, essentially NONE went to the developments; all went back to Lehman), its intransigence in responding to information requests and so forth. A Lehman affiliate also owned 90 percent of the development entity it arranged the loans for and is now trying to foreclose on. (The foreclosure it seeks would shaft construction companies for about $46 million worth of work at the the sites...not to mention junior lenders who have a few hundred million at stake.) Oh, and it got most of a $144 "dividend" from a $235 million "development" loan it arranged for the projects in 2006. And so on. Maybe this is all perfectly normal. If it's not, who knows, maybe some folks on your side of the street had reason to refrain from bailing out Lehman... Regarding Lehman: I wonder if they were dirtier than some of the other Wall Street firms and whether that had anything to do with a decision not to bail them out.

Here on the West Coast there is a lot going on with an involuntary bankruptcy case involving a Lehman-SunCal venture filed in September.

(A boatload have since been filed involving these two, but the first set involving McAllister Ranch, McSweeney Farms and Summerwind Ranch are fundamentally different. They were initiated by junior creditors and unpaid construction firms and are being heard separately from the 20-something that have followed.)

The Chapter 11 trustee assigned to the case has filed a lot of documents questioning Lehman’s conduct involving the loans it made, what happened to the money (of $320 mill made to the three projects, essentially NONE went to the developments; all went back to Lehman), its intransigence in responding to information requests and so forth.

A Lehman affiliate also owned 90 percent of the development entity it arranged the loans for and is now trying to foreclose on. (The foreclosure it seeks would shaft construction companies for about $46 million worth of work at the the sites…not to mention junior lenders who have a few hundred million at stake.)

Oh, and it got most of a $144 “dividend” from a $235 million “development” loan it arranged for the projects in 2006.

And so on.

Maybe this is all perfectly normal. If it’s not, who knows, maybe some folks on your side of the street had reason to refrain from bailing out Lehman…

]]> By: KJMClark http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2008/11/why-point-fingers-on-lehman/comment-page-1/#comment-128882 KJMClark Tue, 25 Nov 2008 21:46:00 +0000 http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/?p=10931#comment-128882 "Let them go to Washington like the Auto company CEOs and appear before the cameras." Here, here - best comment I've read all day. And then, we can cut their pay and bonuses to zero and take away their corporate jets as well. None of them seem to get it - they are responsible, and they should be the first to pay. Blaming one of the guys who's been working to save the system from their bad behavior is churlish. “Let them go to Washington like the Auto company CEOs and appear before the cameras.”

Here, here – best comment I’ve read all day. And then, we can cut their pay and bonuses to zero and take away their corporate jets as well. None of them seem to get it – they are responsible, and they should be the first to pay. Blaming one of the guys who’s been working to save the system from their bad behavior is churlish.

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