Lehman shines in a turbulent day for the banks
Lehman Brothers was one of the few banks to show a healthy rise in its share price yesterday – but only because of suggestions that its management, peeved by recent share price falls, were considering a buyout bid.
Shares in Lehman, which have fallen 80 per cent so far this year, rose 13 per cent on the buyout talk. The suggestion is that any bid will be led by chief executive Richard Fuld.
Elsewhere, the Belgo-Dutch bank Fortis was knocked yesterday by fears that AFM, the Dutch market regulator, could open an investigation into whether the bank has recently misled its shareholders over its capital position. Its shares closed down 14.4 per cent yesterday.
In London, shares in RBS, which is in the process of raising £12bn from its shareholders, fell 7 per cent to 167p amidst fears that the sale of its insurance assets may be called off and on concerns about the health of its US subsidiaries.
