Lehman Brothers

A crisis of value

By (author) Oonagh McDonald

Publication date:

12 November 2015

Length of book:

288 pages

Publisher

Manchester University Press

Dimensions:

234x156mm

ISBN-13: 9781784993405

Using extensive documentary evidence and interviews with former Lehman employees, Oonagh McDonald reveals the decisions that led to Lehman’s collapse, investigates why the government refused a bail-out and whether the implications of this refusal were fully understood. In clear and accessible language she demonstrates both the short and long term effects of Lehman’s collapse.

1 From cotton trader to investment banker: 1844-2008
2 From hubris to nemesis: January to September 2008
3 The fateful weekend
4 Regulating the 'Big Five'
5 The largest bankruptcy in American history
6 The destruction of value
7 Lehman's valuation of its assets
8 Measuring value
9 Monitoring value
10 Chasing a chimera?
Appendix 1: The Lehman Brothers Board of Directors in 2007
Appendix 2: The Lehman Brothers Corporate Structure
Index

'Oonagh McDonald has written a clear and analytical account of what happened and why. She has a reader friendly style and a sharp eye for details.'

Lord Meghnad Desai, Labour Peer, House of Lords

'This balanced, lively, fact-filled and lucid examination of the factors that produced Lehman's failure is teeming with insightful analysis. It weaves together little-known facts to dispel commonly believed myths. If you are going to read one thing to gain a deep understanding of why and how Lehman collapsed, this is it.'

Charles Calomiris is Henry Kaufman Professor of Financial Institutions at Columbia
Business School, USA

'This is a balanced, informed account of the collapse of Lehman Brothers that draws on recently released information to give a full picture of the sequence of events surrounding the crisis and its aftermath. It takes a very comprehensive view and examines the roles of asset valuation, corporate governance, law, regulation and financial theory in the story and surely will be of great interest to all readers with either a professional or general interest in the financial markets'

Professor Robert Hudson, University of Hull

'The demise of Lehman triggered a whole host of unforeseen consequences and with hindsight some have questioned whether it was wise to let Lehman go. This book is the first to use primary sources to look at the detail of the event and that fateful weekend. This is a very well researched and timely book on a topic that will be debated for decades to come.'

Kevin Keasey, Professor of Accounting and Finance, Leeds University Business School, UK.