After a long weekend in which it was a “Dead Bank Walking,” Lehman Brothers (LEH) filed for bankruptcy protection on Sunday according to the Financial Times. The petition reportedly indicates that Japanese banks were the bank’s top unsecured lenders, news which prompted authorities in Tokyo to order Lehman’s Japanese subsidiary to retain assets in the country.
The bankruptcy petition does not include Lehman’s broker-dealer operations and other divisions, including asset manager Neuberger Berman, signalling that the bank is either in talks to find buyers for the operations or is planning to unwind the businesses gradually according to FT.
Japan’s Aozora is reportedly owed $463m in unsecured bank loans with Mizuho next with $289m owed.
