New York -
JPMorgan Chase and Co and Citigroup Inc helped cause the 2009 collapse of Lehman Brothers Holding Inc by demanding more collateral and changing guarantee agreements, according to a report released late Thursday. Lehman Brothers was one of the largest dominoes to fall in the cascade of collapses and
financial brinksmanship that unleashed a nearly two-year-long
recession that ended late last year.
"The demands for collateral by Lehman's lenders had direct impact on Lehman's liquidity pool," Anton Valukas, the US Trustee Program-appointed examiner, said in a 2,200-page report filed in Manhattan federal court. "Lehman's available liquidity is central to the question of why Lehman failed."
The report also found that former Lehman chief executive officer Richard Fuld and other top company officials certified misleading statements, the Bloomberg financial news agency reported. The examiner found Fuld was "at least grossly negligent."
Lehman collapsed in September 2008 with 613 billion dollars in debts and 639 billion dollars in assets in the biggest bankruptcy in US history. The collapse unveiled the growing straits of the over-extended financial industry, triggering political upheaval even as the country was electing a successor to former president George W Bush.
