A New York court late on Monday rejected a renewed attempt by Barclays PLC to attain $4bn in assets linked with the sale of brokerage business Lehman Brothers Holdings. The judge reportedly called for the full amount to go to the trustee overseeing the Lehman Brothers’ liquidation.
As part of the ruling Barclays is required to return $2.05bn in margin collateral to the trustee but the judge agreed with Barclays that the trustee should not receive a nine percent interest rate but five percent, the rate at the time of the bankruptcy filing for the disputed funds. The interest payable thus far accumulated to $280m.
The trustee, James Giddens, of the law firm Hughes Hubbard and Reed said afterwards: “Our efforts have been vindicated and our customers will benefit. The bench ruling marks a clear victory for Lehman customers.”
