Lehman Brothers SBF - Small-cap Commercial
2008-07-07
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We have confirmed with a number of sources that Lehman Brothers has closed their Small Business Finance (SBF) unit announcing they would cease accepting any new applications on 2008-07-02. The Lake Forest, CA based commercial real estate division laid off 200+ people according to an email sent by one AE. They had 52 sales representatives scattered nationwide according to their web site.
"We are not taking loans, loan requests, or pre-quals any longer but we are still honoring the commitments we have for those of you getting this that have deals in and processing, so those of you that do -- don't worry they'll fund."
Additional confirmation came from brokers and a third-party service provider we contacted who had been doing a considerable amount of business with them.
Information on loan volume for commercial lenders was not readily available. According to a 2008-06-16 supplement to their Second Quarter '08 Earnings Release, Lehman Brothers' commercial mortgage portfolio as of 2008-03-31 was almost $20 billion.
Feel free to comment. Send us an email if you have additional details to add to this article.
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ToughMtgBiz at 00:44 2008-07-08 said:
Thats a bummer, but you could tell the writing was on the wall after the warnings posted last month from major brokerages on Wall Street. Their programs were tightening and the deals they were approving were airtight deals only... Permalinkihatebobvila at 20:42 2009-02-18 said:
I hear ya Permalinkadd a comment | go to forum thread
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Important: This company is on our list of lending operations that have "imploded". However, please note that "imploded" is a somewhat subjective and does not necessarily mean operations are ceased permanently: it can mean bankruptcy filing, temporary but open-ended halting of major operations, or "firesale" acquisition. All information here is provisional, and may contain inaccuracies (especially newer information). If you are planning on doing business with this company or any other one listed on this site, you should inquire with them directly on whether they can still meet your needs. Many are still operating in some capacity.