Creditors of Lehman Brothers International
Europe (LBIE) may receive their first payouts next year, according
to Lehman Brothers administrator PwC.
Join administrators said they have raised
£1.8bn ($2.8bn) in cash from house assets in the past six months,
bringing the total so far to £12.6bn.
“The past six months have seen significant
progress on a number of key issues. In the period we settled our
claims against Citigroup relating to some £2 billion of cash and
assets held around the world, the majority of which has now been
recovered. This has been the single, largest settlement of its
kind, to date, in the administration,” PwC partner Tony Lomas
said.
“In recent weeks, we have also materially
progressed our discussions with a number of other Lehman
Affiliates. We have agreed claims between LBIE and a number of Hong
Kong based Lehman companies and we have reached agreement in
principle with LBHI and other US-based Lehman companies that are in
Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.”
Administrators still face legal appeals,
including a Supreme Court hearing where former LBIE clients are
attempting to access creditor funds. The outcome of this case could
affect the values that are eventually paid out to creditors while
delaying the payout process.
“Notwithstanding these major, continuing
difficulties, we remain hopeful of making a first, interim
distribution to creditors at some stage during 2012,” Lomas
said.
