Lehman Brothers has been time and again the subject of short selling and rumours of discount and/or distressed selling that it is indeed not funny! CEO and Chairperson Dick Fuld has probably been through this more than once to realize that it will pass. Yet there is the scare that LEH may go the Bear Stearns & Co. way.
Three reasons why I [and a lot of people] think that LEH cannot go down the BSC way. For one, a run on the bank, if it were to happen, has been taken care of. Capital Reserves are in place and so is the Fed Reserve!
Second, they are far more diversified and have far more friends on the street than Bear. Just look at the timing of the favorable report from Morgan Stanley. Nothing about doubting the integrity of the equity research. It is exactly what the truth is. But the report did help arrest the fall of the stocks.
Finally, and most important, is the presence of Dick. None of the others at Wall Street have been at the helm longer than him. It is not just a function of time. It is the passion he has for a firm that he has nurtured and seen grow. One of the two people on the board who didn't want Lehman to merge with AmEx. It is like a child [or maybe a mother] that he has come to love and nurture. I believe that he will fight tooth and nail to sell it off. He is proud of what The Brothers have achieved.
Here is a nice report in the Financial Times that is good read on the subject.
Lehman Brothers Logo Source: Lehman.com
Dick Fuld Picture Source: Euromoney.com
No comments:
Post a Comment