WASHINGTON, Sept. 1 (UPI) -- Former Lehman Bros. Chief Executive Officer Richard Fuld Jr. told a Washington panel Wednesday that government error allowed the firm to fail.
Lehman Bros. collapsed in September 2008 at the height of the financial crisis. Its failure made the firm an instant poster child for Wall Street's troubles at the time.
Speaking to the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, which is investigating the causes of the financial meltdown, Fuld said, "Lehman was forced into bankruptcy not because it neglected to act responsibly or seek solutions to the crisis but because of a decision, based on flawed information, not to provide Lehman with support," The Los Angeles Times reported.
"Uncontrollable market forces and the incorrect perception and accompanying rumors that Lehman did not have sufficient capital" were the reasons the bank went under, he said.
The commission's chairman, Phil Angelides, said the decision to allow the bank to fail was less pertinent than the causes that pushed Lehman Bros. into a bankruptcy scenario.
UPI
