Barclays had no idea how big Lehman Brothers Holdings futures-and-options trading business was when it considered taking over the defunct bank’s derivatives trades at exchanges in 2008, a Barclays executive said. “Lehman’s books were in such a mess that I don’t think they knew where they were,” Elizabeth James, a director of Barclays’s futures business, testified today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan. James worked on Barclays’s purchase of Lehman’s brokerage during the 2008 financial crisis.
Lehman derivatives records a ‘mess,’ Barclays executive says
August 31, 2010, 11:20am
Jacob Gaffney is formerly Editor-in-Chief of HousingWire and HousingWire.com. He previously covered securitization for Reuters and Source Media in London before returning to the United States in 2009. While in Europe for nearly a decade, he covered bank loans and the high yield market, in addition to commercial paper, student loan, auto and credit card space(s).see full bio
Most Popular Articles
Housing demand holds steady as regional inventory trends reshape the market
Regional inventory trends are reshaping the housing market even as buyer demand remains positive across every major U.S. region.
Jun 25, 2026
-
The American Dream is not dead, it moved to markets that still build
Jul 02, 2026 -
Does this jobs report kill rate hikes for the rest of 2026?
Jul 02, 2026 -
Compass International Holdings rolls out Home Platform across brokerage brands
Jul 02, 2026 -
America 250 is a turning point for American homeownership
Jul 02, 2026 -
Better mortgage spreads are still keeping home sales positive
Jul 04, 2026
Latest Articles
Congress has a chance to expand affordable homeownership. It shouldn’t waste it.
Manufactured housing remains a major source of affordable, non-subsidized homeownership, but barriers persist. The column calls for stronger federal preemption against exclusionary zoning, fuller Duty to Serve support for chattel lending, and limits on standards that could raise prices.
Jacob Gaffney is formerly Editor-in-Chief of HousingWire and HousingWire.com. He previously covered securitization for Reuters and Source Media in London before returning to the United States in 2009. While in Europe for nearly a decade, he covered bank loans and the high yield market, in addition to commercial paper, student loan, auto and credit card space(s).see full bio