In 2007 and 2008, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc engaged in some old-fashioned, end-of-quarter, creative ‘book-cooking” to disguise their quietly snowballing insolvency issues….
Their financial sleight-of-hand involved book-keeping entries known as “Repo 105s” – where late-quarter temporary loans backed by ‘depressed’ assets were booked as ‘sales,’ with the revenues then ‘used’ to pay down debt. This provided “window dressing” for their quarterly reports to, naturally, make ‘management’ look good. Lehman would then ‘buy’ the asset back and add the old debt back in early in the new quarter.
Lehman ran up $50 billion worth of ‘Repo 105s’ in 2008. Auditor Ernst & Young ‘winked’ at the Lehman ‘shell game.’
The financial crisis quickly blew the game up in the fall of 2008.
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Bloomberg Nov 28, 2011 – Excerpts:
“Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy on Sept. 15, 2008, after U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson refused to authorize a government bailout for the New York-based securities firm. By then, the Fed had supplied liquidity to Lehman’s main brokerage unit, Lehman Brothers Inc., for months, reaching $31.1 billion in June 2008.
On the day of the bankruptcy, Lehman’s Fed loans reached $44.8 billion. Barclays Plc took over some of the debt after buying Lehman’s North American securities business, according to court testimony. Lehman Brothers Inc. repaid $38.5 billion on Sept. 18, and Barclays’s Fed borrowings jumped by $49.1 billion to $63.8 billion that day, the data show.”
Peak amount of Debt on 9/15/2008: $46B
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In review – ‘book-cooker’ Lehman Brothers received massive liquidity infusions from the Fed… and Barclays received massive Fed-generated liquidity access to buy ‘book-cooker’ Lehman.
Meanwhile, U.S. citizens, who did not ‘cook books,’ and whose money was used to transfuse Lehman and Barclays, have not been allowed similar access.
It is time now to level the playing field and grant U.S. citizens equal access to Fed liquidity – through a Citizens Credit Facility.
The Leviticus 25 Plan is a dynamic economic initiative providing direct liquidity benefits for American families, while at the same time scaling back the role of government in managing and controlling the affairs of citizens. It is a comprehensive plan with long-term economic and social benefits for citizens and government.
The inspiration for this plan is based upon Biblical principles set forth in the Book of Leviticus, principles tendering direct economic liberties to the people.
The Leviticus 25 Plan – An Economic Acceleration Plan for America
$90,000 per U.S. citizen – Leviticus 25 Plan 2022 (3875 downloads)