The Government did not know what it was doing when it tried to shore up the banks in 2008, as it thought the banks just needed money when in fact they were broke, a study by the European Commission says.

Six years, seven months, and 13 days after Lehman Brothers Holdings filed for bankruptcy, its former chief executive, Richard Fuld Jr, is still insisting it did not go broke.

Ireland would have taken “decades” to recover if the controversial blanket bank guarantee was not introduced in September 2008, the then governor of the Central Bank has claimed.

Retail recovering on Irish high streets, Cork's oldest gay bar closes, Bingham wins World snooker championship and Bressie writes about marriage equality. These are some of the latest and most read news stories on irishexaminer.com this morning.

The US Supreme Court yesterday allowed Barclays to claim about $4bn (€3.6bn) of disputed assets as part of its hurried purchase of much of Lehman Brothers Holdings’ brokerage unit at the height of the 2008 financial crisis.

At the Greencore AGM in May 2005, a group of dissident and highly vocal shareholders lashed out at the then CEO David Dilger over the company’s sluggish growth performance.

On Tuesday last, the Irish Examiner reported that the International Monetary Fund had recommended in its latest Global Financial Stability report that banks should have to pay a levy based on the size of their liabilities. It is a recommendation that most of us could agree with.

A witness at the trial of three former Anglo Irish Bank executives has been asked is there a touch of the British comedy 'Yes Minister' in the bank's dealings with the Financial Regulator in 2008.

With an ever-lengthening list of scandals and a number of banks still reliant on the public purse, the 2013 Christmas party season for London’s financiers is about decency over debauchery.

The KfW is a German government-owned development bank led by a managing board which reports to a supervisory board chaired by Wolfgang Schäuble, the finance minister. KfW covers over 90% of its borrowing needs in the capital markets, mainly through bonds that are guaranteed by the federal government.

On Sept 15, 2008, one of the biggest shocks to the global and financial system occurred when Lehman Brothers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the largest bankruptcy filing in US corporate history.

IT is five years since the collapse of Lehman Bros in the US, but in Irish terms, Lehman was just the final hiccup which served as the precursor to the inevitable retching that Irish banks were about to endure.

Barclays is set to launch its £5.8bn (€6.83bn) rights issue in two weeks, possibly on the fifth anniversary of its takeover of the US operations of Lehman Brothers.

JPMorgan Chase has agreed to pay $23m (€17.2m) to settle claims that it mishandled pension fund money by investing with Lehman Brothers.

Whenever Alan Greenspan was praised for delivering a clear message on US monetary policy, he liked to reply something along the lines of: “If you think that, you have misunderstood what I said.”

Surprise, surprise, we are back in recession again.

Perhaps the biggest investor shock of the second half of 2012 would be if everything turns out OK and the world doesn’t fall apart.

Banks will need a healthy push by governments to fix balance sheets, abandon risky businesses and serve the public to avoid prolonging the financial crisis, the Bank for International Settlements said.

Lehman Brothers has emerged from its record $639bn bankruptcy.

In its 200 years, East Grove, on Cork’s Great Island, has had owners of many nationalities including the Glucksmans, says Tommy Barker

Lehman Brothers Holdings is suing several units of Citigroup to recover $2.5bn (€1.88bn) it transferred to a back-up account at Citi months before seeking bankruptcy court protection.

DEALMAKERS could find themselves with even more free time on their hands next year if Europe’s fiscal roadmap fails to convince investors and stabilise global markets.

THE European Central Bank is likely to cut interest rates today and offer ultra- long liquidity operations to support banks, while leaving the door open to further measures to fight Europe’s debt crisis if governments agree fiscal reforms.

Artworks owned by one of Ireland’s boom-time developers are to be sold off by renowned auction house Christie’s to repay some of his debts.

Japan’s economy contracted during the April-June quarter at an annual rate of 2.1%, worse than the initial estimate, the government said today, underlining the damage from the March earthquake disaster.

DEEP divisions are at the heart of prevailing paralysis in the eurozone.

“UNIVERSITY fined for not flying EU flag,” the headline went in some British newspapers last week, forcing the European Commission to set the record straight about this latest eurosceptic myth.

PERHAPS one of the most perplexing issues of this election is the continued influence of Fianna Fáil in its progress and probably on its outcome.

Greetings from Ireland. We are delighted your club is topping the table in the Premiership, following on from last year’s league and cup double.

A SALE of signs and artworks which adorned the walls of collapsed investment bank Lehman Brothers started with a bang yesterday as the first lots sold for way over their estimated prices.

THE sight of a handshake would have been hard enough to stomach, but the picture of beaming former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern being embraced in a bear-hug by NAMA resident property developer Johnny Ronan last Tuesday, at the opening of the Dublin Convention Centre, was nauseating.

THE decision to split Anglo Irish Bank into a funding bank and an asset recovery bank received a mixed response from economists who described it as “confusing” and lacking in clarity.

The big banks should be shut down if their actions threaten the financial system, the US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told a panel investigating the financial crisis today.

Artwork which once adorned the walls of collapsed investment bank Lehman Brothers will go under the hammer next month in a £2m (€2.4m)sale, administrators of the business said today.

ONE of the reports into the banking crisis concludes that saving Anglo Irish Bank was the right thing to do.

CENTRAL Bank Governor Patrick Honohan’s report says the collapse of Lehman Brothers did not cause the Irish banking crisis.

GOLDMAN Sachs Group Inc reported blow-out quarterly earnings yesterday, but investors appeared to focus on the US fraud case against the bank as the Irish Financial Regulator examines the implications of the case for Irish regulated funds.

US bank Lehman Brothers was using an off-balance sheet company to mask the true extent of its exposure to risky investments for up to seven years prior to its collapse, it has emerged.

Two employees of Bank of China’s Hong Kong subsidiary were charged in connection with sales of financial products linked to collapsed Lehman Brothers.

THE European Union has launched an investigation into €10.44 billion of state money for Anglo Irish Bank.

The Financial Regulator’s handling of the banking crisis was late and insufficient, a Government watchdog said today.

The Financial Regulator’s handling of the banking crisis was late and insufficient, a Government watchdog said today.

A report into the collapse of US investment bank Lehman Brothers found "credible evidence" that senior managers approved misleading financial statements in the run-up to the group's demise.