In his testimony to Congress Richard Fuld, the chief executive officer of bankrupt Lehman Brothers, said his investment bank was felled by rumors, out-of-date rules, and slow reactions by regulators. All of this worked to fuel a "storm of fear" on Wall Street that led to the collapse of his firm. In other words, Fuld is saying "Don't Blame Me."
If we accept Fuld's terms ...
... his decision to dive head-first into risky mortgages when the market was collapsing had nothing to do with Lehman's collapse.Fuld's nonsensical comments should help us all understand how we got into this mess. These guys were either clueless, or criminally stupid.
... his statements earlier this year that the "worst of the impact to the financial markets was behind us" was sound analysis.
... the out of date rules his industry fought to maintain or abolish in the name of deregulation was a sound industry strategy.
And in the FYI Department, Fuld made $40 million last year ... essentially for helping to drive Lehman Bros. into the ground.
- Mark
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