Too Big to Fail - Andrew Ross Sorkin [323]
had posed a decade earlier: “Merrill’s Mr. Allison, reading from a handwritten sheet, spelled out the terms. ‘We think we need $4 billion to assure the fund can withstand any concerted attack by others against its positions.’ Sixteen firms were asked to pitch in $250 million.” Michael Siconolfi, Anita Raghavan and Mitchell Pacelle, “All Bets Are Off: How the Salesmanship and Brainpower Failed at Long-Term Capital,” Wall Street Journal, November 16, 1998.
“What the fuck are you doing?”: Lowenstein, When Genius Failed, 203.
he had contributed only $100 million: Wall Street Journal, November 16, 1998.
Merrill’s market capitalization: According to Standard & Poor’s, Merrill’s market capitalization for Friday, September 12, 2008 was $26.1 billion. “Five Facts About Merrill Lynch and Bank of America,” Reuters, September 14, 2008.
“It looks like we may have the outlines of a deal around the financing”: William D. Cohan, “Three Days,” Fortune.
tapped out a message on his BlackBerry to Michael Gelband: A version of this anecdote was reported by Steve Fishman, “Burning Down His House,” New York, December 8, 2008.
McCarthy, meanwhile, in London…: Nick Mathiason, “Three Weeks That Changed the World,” The Observer, December 28, 2008.
FSA’s refusal to waive shareholder-approval requirements: As reported by Bloomberg, Barclays spokesman Leigh Bruce said: “The only reason it didn’t happen is that there was no guarantee from the U.S. government, and a technical stock-exchange rule required prior shareholder approval for us to make a similar guarantee ourselves. We didn’t have that approval, so it wasn’t possible for us to do the deal. No U.K. bank could have done it. It was a technical rule that could not be overcome.” John Helyar and Yalman Onaran, “Fuld Sought Buffett Offer He Refused as Lehman Sank,” Bloomberg, November 10, 2008.
editorial in the Sunday Telegraph: Mark Keinman, “Barclays Should Be Wary of the Gorilla in Its Midst,” Sunday Telegraph, Sep 14, 2008.
“Those of you who do not want to assist a Barclay deal…”: Author received notes from this meeting, with Paulson’s remarks dictated, as well as Geithner’s proposal to create a $100 billion emergency fund for the three remaining investment banks.
Thain having coffee with Ken Lewis on Sunday morning: Referenced by Craig, McCracken, Lucchetti, and Kelly in “The Weekend that Wall Street Died,” Wall Street Journal, December 29, 2008.
“Couldn’t have gone more poorly…” Diamond’s e-mail exchange read to author.
“We’ve got a good deal in hand”: Greg Fleming’s words to Peter Kraus were first reported in the Wall Street Journal and differ slightly from the author’s subsequent reporting. According to the WSJ, Fleming said: “We have a great deal in hand, and need to finish doing this deal.” Susanne Craig, Jeffrey McCracken, Aaron Lucchetti, and Kate Kelly, “The Weekend That Wall Street Died,” Wall Street Journal, December 29, 2008.
together they had prepared an offer for the company: Zachary R. Mider and Erik Holm, “Allianz, Flowers Said to Have Bid for AIG Before Fed Takeover,” Bloomberg, September 17, 2008.
The company’s market value on Friday had been about $31 billion: “With a market value of $31 billion on Friday, based on an intraday low of $11.49, it now trails some other insurers, including AXA SA. The shares slipped further after the closing bell, following a warning from Standard & Poor’s that it may cut AIG’s ratings.” Lilla Zuill, “AIG Could Hold Investor Call as Soon as Mon,” Reuters, September 12, 2008.
“I don’t approve of”: Dr. Paul Achleitner of Allianz denies having made these comments. However, several eyewitnesses confirmed that these were the words he used.
Miller grabbed three senior partners: Ben Hallman, “A Moment’s Notice for Lehman,” American Lawyer, December 16, 2008.
Roberts took a call from a partner: Ibid.
“You don’t understand the consequences”: Ibid.
“All trades conducted will be done”: Author obtained copy of Fed memo.
“The extraordinary trading