Lehman Brothers Holdings filed for Chapter 11 on 15 September 2008, listing 639 billion dollars in assets, and sold its core US business to Barclays days later. A court-appointed examiner reported in 2010 that Lehman used undisclosed Repo 105 transactions to reduce its reported leverage. The estates have since paid creditors more than 129 billion dollars and are still winding down.
Lehman Brothers Holdings is still winding down under its 2011 plan and made its 33rd distribution on 1 October 2026, bringing senior noteholders to about 46.83 percent of their allowed claim. The broker-dealer liquidation closed in 2022, and Lehman said in 2025 it could not give a date for ending its activities.
The bankruptcy examiner later found that Lehman had 38.6 billion dollars of Repo 105 transactions outstanding at the end of its 2007 fiscal year. He said these short-term repos were booked as sales, which temporarily moved securities off the balance sheet, while Lehman's filings said all repos were treated as financings.
At the end of the second quarter of 2008 Repo 105 use reached 50.38 billion dollars, up from 49.1 billion dollars a quarter earlier, the examiner found. He calculated that Lehman's reported net leverage of 12.1 times would have been 13.9 times without it.
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed a voluntary Chapter 11 petition in the Southern District of New York, case No. 08-13555. It said none of its broker-dealer or other subsidiaries were included. AP reported that Lehman listed assets of 639 billion dollars and debt of 613 billion dollars as of 31 May.
Lehman said directors of certain UK companies, including Lehman Brothers International (Europe), had concluded that without support from the parent they were or were likely to become unable to pay their debts as they fell due, and were taking steps to place them into administration.
LB 745 LLC filed for Chapter 11 and Lehman announced civil rehabilitation proceedings in Japan and the suspension of certain Asian subsidiaries, according to its 8-K.
The liquidation of the broker-dealer Lehman Brothers Inc. under the Securities Investor Protection Act began, with James W. Giddens as trustee, SIPC said.
After a hearing that ran past midnight, Bankruptcy Judge James Peck approved a revised deal for Barclays to buy Lehman's North American investment banking and capital markets businesses for about 1.75 billion dollars, Reuters reported. It said up to 10,000 jobs would be saved.
Examiner Anton R. Valukas issued his nine-volume report in the Chapter 11 case. On Repo 105 he concluded that the transactions served an accounting rather than a business purpose and that Lehman never disclosed the programme or its effect on reported leverage.
The examiner found sufficient evidence to support colorable claims of breach of fiduciary duty against former chief executive Richard Fuld and finance executives Chris O'Meara, Erin Callan and Ian Lowitt, and a colorable malpractice claim against auditor Ernst and Young. A colorable claim is not a finding of liability.
The New York Attorney General sued Ernst and Young in Manhattan Supreme Court under the Martin Act, alleging that as Lehman's auditor it approved the Repo 105 accounting and failed to tell the audit committee about a whistleblower's concerns.
Judge Peck ruled that the sale to Barclays was fair and that the estate was not entitled to recover an alleged 11 billion dollar windfall, Reuters reported. He said the process may have been imperfect but disclosure lapses did not change the outcome.
Reuters (via Fox Business)The bankruptcy court confirmed Lehman's Chapter 11 plan, under which Lehman Brothers Holdings acts as plan administrator, the company said.
Reuters and Bloomberg News reported, citing an excerpt of an undated internal agency memo, that SEC staff had concluded a probe of more than three years and would likely not recommend charges against Lehman or its former executives. An SEC spokesman said no final decision had been made.
The Second Circuit ruled in favour of Barclays in the broker-dealer trustee's dispute over about 4 billion dollars in assets, Reuters later reported.
Ernst and Young agreed to pay 10 million dollars to resolve the Attorney General's suit, mostly as restitution to Lehman investors. The release does not say the firm admitted wrongdoing. It said Ernst and Young had also paid about 99 million dollars to settle a private class action.
The US Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal by Lehman's creditors, leaving the Second Circuit ruling for Barclays in place in Giddens v. Barclays, No. 14-710, Reuters reported.
Lehman made its 24th distribution, about 86.7 million dollars, bringing total distributions to about 129.0 billion dollars, of which 96.0 billion dollars went on third-party claims, the company said.
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (Business Wire)Judge Shelley C. Chapman closed the Lehman Brothers Inc. liquidation, which SIPC called the largest securities brokerage liquidation in US history. About 106 billion dollars went to customers, satisfying all 111,000 customer claims, and more than 9.372 billion dollars to general creditors.
Through the 30th plan distribution the debtors had paid creditors 129.4 billion dollars, including 96.4 billion dollars on third-party claims, Lehman reported. Senior unsecured creditors had recovered 46.737 percent and general unsecured creditors 43.751 percent.
Lehman's quarterly report estimated 203 million dollars in future cash distributions and named litigation in Switzerland as a key open item. It said it could not specify when its activities would end.
The 32nd plan distribution paid senior noteholders about 18.7 million dollars, bringing them to 46.819 percent of their allowed claim, according to the indenture trustee.
PwC, administrators of Lehman Brothers Holdings plc in the UK, began paying a 10 million pound interim dividend to subordinated creditors, including the US parent, and reported keeping reserves of 65.3 million pounds.
Lehman Brothers Treasury Co. B.V., in liquidation, said the sale of its remaining 19.6 billion dollar intercompany claim against Lehman Brothers Holdings had closed. It said the proceeds would fund a final distribution to its noteholders, expected in October 2026, and that it expected to be wound down before the end of 2026.
The 33rd plan distribution paid senior noteholders about 3.99 million dollars, bringing their cumulative recovery to 46.827 percent, the indenture trustee said. It said distributions are made twice a year provided the aggregate distribution is at least 10 million dollars.
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Reuters (via Investing.com) · investing.com Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (Business Wire) · businesswire.com Reuters (via Fox Business) · foxbusiness.comLast updated 1 November 2026. Spotted an error? See corrections. Every event links to the record it comes from. Allegations are attributed to whoever made them.