Richard Fuld Still Doesn’t Think Lehman Was Really Bankrupt

Nearly seven years since the collapse of Lehman Brothers, former chief Richard Fuld Jr. is still in the first stage of grief—denial.

In a rare public appearance at a conference Thursday, Mr. Fuld reportedly argued that Lehman wasn’t a bankrupt company in September, 2008. He also said it had $28 billion in equity capital and $127 billion in unencumbered collateral. For most, the fact Lehman filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection would be conclusive evidence it was, in fact, bankrupt. But Mr. Fuld said the firm was “mandated into bankruptcy,” a phrase he has used in the past. That flies in the face of the 2010 Lehman bankruptcy examiner’s report, which concluded there was sufficient evidence to find Lehman was insolvent by September 8, 2008—and perhaps earlier.

Mr. Fuld also insisted all 27,000 Lehman employees were “risk managers” because each owned equity in the firm. The notion that holding equity qualifies one as a risk manager at least sheds some light on the failure of Lehman to manage its risk.