750 jobs axed at failed bank

10:09pm Tuesday 30th September 2008

Around 750 jobs have been axed by the administrators of collapsed investment bank Lehman Brothers' European arm.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said the "majority" of the job losses were in London, and blamed the cull on "the necessary restructuring" of the unit following the bankruptcy of its US parent earlier this month.

PwC partner Tony Lomas said: "It is extremely disappointing that, despite exhausting all avenues, these jobs could not be saved. We continue to be focused on maximising the value of recoveries for creditors, whilst minimising the impact on other stakeholders as much as possible."

A spokesman for PwC said the cuts were mainly from the fixed income division, with a smaller number going from the personal investment management arm.

Lehman Brothers, the fourth-largest investment bank in the US, filed for bankruptcy on September 15 after being hit by the credit crunch and a rescue deal falling through.

It employed around 4,500 people in the UK at the time of the collapse, most of them based in London. Also part of the empire were several hundred staff working at Capstone Mortgages in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.

The latest redundancies follow a deal last week in which Japanese bank Nomura bought Lehman Brothers' European equities and investment banking business.

Nomura said it would retain "a significant proportion" of the 2,500 staff employed by its investment banking and equities businesses.

PwC has been trying to find buyers for various parts of the Lehman Brothers European arm since it went into administration a fortnight ago.

A spokeswoman for PwC said of the estimated 1,300 staff whose futures remained uncertain, "several hundred" remained employed at Capstone, with other staff in London helping in back office functions and with the administration process.

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