http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2086842/posts>Fury at $2.5bn Lehman bonus (to be paid by Barclay)
>Times of London ^ | 09/21/08 | John Waples and Danny Fortson
>
>Posted on Saturday, September 20, 2008 9:38:29 PM by TigerLikesRooster
>
>Fury at $2.5bn Lehman bonus
>
>Nomura and Barclays table bids today for US giant’s London operation as
>bank’s administrator likens collapse to Enron
>
>John Waples and Danny Fortson
>
>STAFF at Lehman’s New York office who helped to cause the world’s
>biggest corporate bankruptcy are to share in a $2.5 billion bonanza.
>
>The bonus, which has been described by London staff as a “scandal†has
>been pledged by Barclays Capital, the British-based bank that last week
>acquired Lehman’s American operation and took on 10,000 staff.
>
>The $2.5 billion (£1.4 billion) pot, which has been ring-fenced as part
>of the acquisition, has caused huge resentment among the 5,000 staff in
>the firm’s European and Middle Eastern operations who are not
>guaranteed to be paid after this month. There are, however, hopes that
>half the jobs in Lehman’s Canary Wharf office could be saved today by
>either Barclays or Nomura. Bids are being submitted for its UK equities
>and investment-banking business.
>
>A Chapter 11 bankruptcy document filed by Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc
>says that Barclays has identified eight individuals out of the New York
>staff of 10,000 who are vital to make the deal succeed and a further
>200 who are identified as “keyâ€. It is thought that these eight
>directors will be locked into two-year contracts worth between $10m and
>$25m a year.