Lehman's Fuld blames perfect storm, not accounting
Former Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc Chief Executive Richard Fuld will tell U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday that he was not aware of off-balance-sheet transactions that some have blamed for hiding Lehman's true financial state ahead of its collapse.
In testimony posted on a congressional website ahead of his appearance on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, Fuld said Lehman's collapse was the result of a perfect storm of events rather than accounting problems and suggested the need for a super regulator that would monitor the markets in real time.
I have absolutely no recollection whatsoever of hearing anything about Repo 105 transactions while I was CEO of Lehman, Fuld's prepared remarks read.
Fuld, who left Lehman at the end of 2008, will say that the U.S. Federal Reserve and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission knew what was happening to Lehman in real time, and Lehman did not have a huge capital hole.
He will say that Repo 105 was not used to remove toxic assets or hide assets and did not contribute to Lehman's bankruptcy. He will also say that the firm followed accounting rules.
Lehman's court-appointed examiner released a report in March, which suggested Repo 105 was an accounting gimmick that Lehman might have improperly used to hide some assets ahead of its collapse.
(Editing by Gerald E. McCormick)
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