Too Big to Fail [297]
“Do we have some stuff”: Fuld, as quoted by the Financial Times: “Do we have some stuff on the books that would be tough to get rid of? Yes,” he said, referring to commercial and residential mortgage assets. “Am I worried about it? No. If you have some repricing of these things will we lose some money? Yes. Is it going to kill us? Of course not.” Ben White, “A Fighter on the Ropes,” Financial Times, June 14, 2008.
buying this new tower from Morgan Stanley: In October 2001, Morgan Stanley sold its office building, located on Broadway and West Forty-ninth Street, to Lehman Brothers for $700 million. Charles V. Bagli, “Morgan Stanley Selling Nearly Completed Office Tower to Lehman for $700 Million,” New York Times, October 9, 2001.
“We’ve been characterizing Lehman Brothers”: Joe Kernen, Squawk Box, CNBC, March 17, 2008.
DBS Group Holdings: The memo, however, didn’t mention closing any existing accounts with the firms. Patricia Kowsmann, “DBS Not Entering New Positions with Lehman–Sources,” Dow Jones Newswires, March 17, 2008.
Moody’s reaffirmed its A1 rating: Craig, “Lehman Finds Itself,” Wall Street Journal.
“It’s paving the road with cheap tar”: Fuld, as quoted by Yalman Onaran and John Helyar, “Lehman’s Last Days,” Bloomberg Markets, January 2009.
“Bear Stearns’s demise”: Ibid.
“Lehman may have to follow Bear into the confessional”: McCarty, as quoted by David Cho and Neil Irwin, “Crises of Confidence in the Markets; Federal Reserve’s Rescue of Bear Stearns Exposes Cracks in Financial System,” Washington Post, March 18, 2008.
“I don’t think we’re going bust this afternoon”: This was reported by Andrew Gowers, and while attributed to “the boss” in the Sunday Times of London, “the boss” on the line is actually Jeremy Isaacs, Lehman’s CEO for Europe and Asia, not Dick Fuld. See Andrew Gowers, “The Man Who Brought the World to Its Knees EXPOSED,” Sunday Times (London), December 14, 2008.
“I don’t care who you are”: Fuld, as reported by Gary Silverman and Charles Pretzlik, “Richard Fuld—A Cunning Player Shows His Hand,” Financial Times, August 17, 2001.
As he fumed to the Washington Post: Ianthe Jeanne Dugan, “Battling Rumors on Wall St.; Lehman Brothers Chairman Launches Aggressive Defense,” Washington Post, October 10, 1998.
“We learned we need a lot of liquidity”: Fuld, in an interview with Craig, “Lehman Finds Itself,” Wall Street Journal.
white paper he presented in Davos: Russo’s presentation, titled “Credit Crunch: Where Do We Stand?,” was originally given at the Group of Thirty meeting on November 30, 2007. He updated the paper for the World Economic Forum in January 2008. See http://www.group30.org/pubs/pub_1401.htm.
for $21 million were finished: A broker told the New York Post: “It’s got great bones, but it needs tons of work,” estimating that the renovation of Fuld’s apartment would cost $10 million more. See “$21 Million Wreck,” New York Post, February 6, 2007.
he joined the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps: Fuld’s ROTC recruitment has been reported previously by various publications, including the Wall Street Journal and Fortune, but this scene between Fuld and his sergeant, to the author’s knowledge, has never been published before.
United Merchants & Manufacturers: “Jacob W. Schwab, 89, Textile Manufacturer,” New York Times, March 30, 1982.
Fuld’s Lehman internship: Justin Schack, “Restoring the House of Lehman,” Institutional Investor—Americas, May 12, 2005; Tom Bawden, “Bruiser of Wall St Dick Fuld Looked After His People, But Didn’t Know When to Quit,” The Times (London), September 16, 2008; Annys Shin, “Capitol Grilling for Lehman CEO,” Washington Post, October 7, 2008.
“I truly stumbled into investment banking”: Schack, “Restoring the House,” Institutional Investor.
magnificent 1907 Italian