UBS, one of the banks hit hardest by the financial crisis, was Barclays’ preferred merger target only weeks before it acquired the US assets of a stricken Lehman Brothers, the Financial Times has learnt.
UBS, one of the banks hit hardest by the financial crisis, was Barclays’ preferred merger target only weeks before it acquired the US assets of a stricken Lehman Brothers, the Financial Times has learnt.
Speculation over Barclays’ interest in UBS and Lehman circulated in the early summer of 2008 but was not confirmed.
Senior executives at Barclays Capital, Barclays’ investment banking division, presented UBS as a favoured option, ahead of Lehman, at a July 2008 board meeting, say current and former directors.
To read the full story, visit ft.com