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Lehman May 28
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Ex-Lehman Brothers CEO to Talk About Notorious Collapse
May 28, 2015 | NY Post
By Kevin Dugan
Wall Street’s gorilla wants back in the jungle. Richard “Dick” Fuld, the notoriously competitive CEO who led Lehman Brothers to its demise seven years ago, will test how forgiving Wall Street can be on Thursday when he’s expected to discuss for the first time the bankruptcy that was the tipping point of the financial crisis. -
Fallen Lehman Chief Opens Real Estate Brokerage
May 27, 2015 | USA Today
By Kaja Whitehouse
Just seven years after his brokerage firm collapsed under a mountain of troubled mortgages, former Lehman Bros. chairman and CEO Dick Fuld is back in the real estate business, USA TODAY has learned. Last year, Fuld's financial advisory firm, Matrix Advisors, launched a licensed real estate brokerage and hired a seasoned real estate broker... -
Resignation Over MP Huw Merriman's 'Second Job'
May 27, 2015 | BBC News
The chairman of the Bexhill and Battle Conservative Association has resigned after a disagreement with the newly-elected MP over a potential second job. Stephen Rowlinson said he told Huw Merriman that continuing a £160,000-a-year consultancy with the liquidators of Lehman Brothers would be "damaging". -
MP Denies Taking New Job
May 28, 2015 | The Argus (UK)
By Henry Holloway
...The chairman of the Bexhill and Battle Conservative Association, Stephen Rowlinson, has reportedly resigned after a disagreement with MP Huw Merriman, who was elected earlier this month.Mr Rowlinson claims he told Mr Merriman that taking up a position with the administrators of bankrupt financial services firm Lehman Brothers...
Client Attorney Privileged/Attorney Work Product/At Request of Counsel
Dick Fuld
UK - Huw Merriman
Full Text of Stories Below
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Ex-Lehman Brothers CEO to Talk About Notorious Collapse
May 28, 2015 | NY Post
By Kevin Dugan
Wall Street’s gorilla wants back in the jungle.
Richard “Dick” Fuld, the notoriously competitive CEO who led Lehman Brothers to its demise seven years ago, will test how forgiving Wall Street can be on Thursday when he’s expected to discuss for the first time the bankruptcy that was the tipping point of the financial crisis.
Indeed, Fuld, 69, is one of the chief culprits of the 2008 crisis. He and Countrywide Financial CEO Angelo Mozilo built up their respective companies’ positions in the subprime mortgages that eventually went bust — taking the economy with them.
And while Thursday’s speech won’t be his first public appearance — he has a consulting company and has spoken at a college earlier this year — it’s telling that he’s chosen a conference on penny stocks to tell his side of the story.
“In Dick Fuld’s case, I think it was, to a degree, an unfair outcome,” Joseph Grano, the former chairman and CEO of UBS Financial Services, told The Post. “I can tell you that among the people who know him, he’s not toxic at all.”
During the weeks leading up to Lehman’s Sept. 15, 2008, bankruptcy filing, Ben Bernanke, then chairman of the Fed, Henry Paulson, the Treasury Secretary, and Timothy Geithner, head of the New York Fed, had tried to get Barclays and Bank of America to buy the ailing Lehman, but eventually let the firm collapse without a bailout.
Fuld’s defenders say that the bank wasn’t bankrupt and simply faced a short-term cash crisis — a distinction that didn’t make a difference for the largest bankruptcy ever in the US for the $600 billion institution...
For full story:
http://nypost.com/2015/05/28/ex-lehman-brothers-ceo-to-talk-about-notorious-collapse/
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Fallen Lehman Chief Opens Real Estate Brokerage
May 27, 2015 | USA Today
By Kaja Whitehouse
Just seven years after his brokerage firm collapsed under a mountain of troubled mortgages, former Lehman Bros. chairman and CEO Dick Fuld is back in the real estate business, USA TODAY has learned.
Last year, Fuld's financial advisory firm, Matrix Advisors, launched a licensed real estate brokerage and hired a seasoned real estate broker and asset manager to run it, public documents show.
In February 2014, Matrix hired Howard Schussler, a former asset manager and leasing associate at Kimco Realty, a publicly traded owner and operator of shopping centers, according to Schussler's LinkedIn page. Schussler also worked at C-III Capital Partners, a national real estate services and investment management company.
In April, Matrix opened Matrix RE Brokerage LLC, a licensed real estate brokerage, according to New York Department of State business records. Schussler is also a licensed real estate broker with New York under Matrix RE Brokerage, records show.
Matrix's new web site, which was under constructed this week, said its real estate arm "provides real estate transactional and advisory services which include sourcing investment opportunities, equity and debt, financial modeling and due diligence for all asset classes."
Neither Schussler nor Fuld returned USA TODAY's requests for comment.
On Thursday Fuld, who was widely blamed for Lehman's 2008 collapse, will be honored as the keynote speaker at conference in midtown Manhattan in what is being billed as his first public appearance since the $30 billion brokerage firm and investment bank went bust.
At the conference, Fuld, 69, will talk about how companies valued at under $500 million can make it in today's tougher capital environment, according to a press release by Marcum LLP, the accounting and advisory firm sponsoring the event.
Fuld will also touch on Lehman and the financial crisis in his speech, the news release said.
Following Lehman's bankruptcy, which was the biggest in history, Fuld was grilled by Congress, called a "villain" and portrayed as the poster boy for the kind of Wall Street excess that led to the financial crisis. Fuld, in turn, blamed the government for denying to save the firm, as it did Bear Stearns — as well as an "extraordinary run on the bank."
In 2010, Lehman's bankruptcy examiner said that while Lehman officers choose to ignore signs it was "undertaking excessive risk," there was scant evidence of gross negligence. In 2012, the Securities and Exchange Commission staffers ended their probe into possible financial fraud at Lehman Brothers without recommending enforcement action against the firm or its executives.
Fuld's rare decision to step into the spotlight this week appears to coincide with his efforts to beef up Matrix Advisors, which provides advice on operations and assistance on financial transactions.
In addition to hiring Schussler, Matrix also recently hired John Yanchek, a former natural resources analyst at Goldman Sachs, according to the company's website. The Matrix web site, which is being built by Quick Media Solutions, was mostly off limits late Wednesday following USA TODAY's story about Matrix's recent expansion efforts.
Before access to the site's pages were removed, the web site listed Fuld as the chairman, CEO and founder of Matrix, and former Lehman executives Ernest Green and David Karlin as managing directors.
Matrix also moved into a new 6,832 square-foot space on the 6th floor of 400 Park Ave., according to Real Estate Weekly. Matrix was previously located at 780 Third Avenue, according to its old web site — a plain white page that said "Coming Soon" below the company's name and address...
For full story:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2015/05/27/dick-fuld-lehman-brothers-act-two/27976729/
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Resignation Over MP Huw Merriman's 'Second Job'
May 27, 2015 | BBC News
The chairman of the Bexhill and Battle Conservative Association has resigned after a disagreement with the newly-elected MP over a potential second job.
Stephen Rowlinson said he told Huw Merriman that continuing a £160,000-a-year consultancy with the liquidators of Lehman Brothers would be "damaging".
He said he resigned when "it became clear nothing would change his mind".
Mr Merriman said although he previously worked for the administrators he could not accept a new contract.'Toxic Lehman name'
Mr Rowlinson said he had received an email from Mr Merriman saying he was considering an offer to continue working for the liquidators of the London and European operations of the US investment bank Lehman Brothers.
"This would be for at least a year at an annual consultancy fee of £160,000. He asked for my approval as chairman on behalf of the Association.
"I immediately responded by urging him not to take up the offer, pointing out that in the new parliament there would be just a handful of Conservatives and no Labour, Lib Dem or SNP members with any significant outside earnings."
He added: "I said that the combination of the toxic Lehman name, controversy about bankers' salaries and the government's drive to make £12bn welfare cuts would potentially make his second job extremely embarrassing for the government and damaging to his career."...
For full story:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-sussex-32891604
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May 28, 2015 | The Argus (UK)
By Henry Holloway
A leading Conservative has resigned after a spat with a newly-elected MP over the offer of a second job.
The chairman of the Bexhill and Battle Conservative Association, Stephen Rowlinson, has reportedly resigned after a disagreement with MP Huw Merriman, who was elected earlier this month.
Mr Rowlinson claims he told Mr Merriman that taking up a position with the administrators of bankrupt financial services firm Lehman Brothers would be “damaging” to his career.
Mr Rowlinson then resigned when he said it had become clear to him the MP for Bexhill and Battle would not “change his mind”.
However, Mr Merriman MP said he had not taken the new job contract anyway.
The bankruptcy filing of Lehman Brothers was the largest in the history of the United States and followed a mass exodus of their clients and falling stock prices.
The collapse of the firm was instrumental in the global financial crisis.
Mr Merriman said while he had previously worked for the administrators, he had decided not to accept the new contract to focus on working as an MP.
Mr Rowlinson claims he had warned him the second job could be “extremely embarrassing” for the government due to the toxicity of the Lehman name and controversies over bankers’ salaries.
The MP said: “Prior to my election as MP for Bexhill and Battle constituency, I worked for the joint administrators of Lehman Brothers in Europe and led a team of lawyers who were unwinding the estate on behalf of the creditors.
“The creditors have been repaid in full and the joint administrators asked me if I could provide them with input on a new project to distribute the remaining surplus to creditors.
“Having now been elected as a Member of Parliament, and with the responsibilities to my constituents being my priority, I have concluded that I will not be able to assist the joint administrators...
For full story:
http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/12975215.MP_denies_taking_new_job/
Client Attorney Privileged/Attorney Work Product/At Request of Counsel
Dick Fuld
UK - Huw Merriman
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