Repo 105

[shaunbhoy]

I could not open bank account to my sister when she was here due to "money laundering legislation" to put few quid in (small amount)

This "sister" of yours. Does she like Gladiator movies?

[original PM]

It's news to me that they could so easily shift $50 bln cross border from USA to UK without anyone asking questions.

I could not open bank account to my sister when she was here due to "money laundering legislation" to put few quid in (small amount)

You can do what the hell you want - it only becomes a problem when you get caught!

[minestrone]

I could not open bank account to my sister when she was here due to "money laundering legislation" to put few quid in (small amount)

Lets face it, you do sound like a pretty shifty character.

[AtW]

so all bankers are greedy lying cheats

It's news to me that they could so easily shift $50 bln cross border from USA to UK without anyone asking questions.

I could not open bank account to my sister when she was here due to "money laundering legislation" to put few quid in (small amount)

[original PM]

so all bankers are greedy lying cheats

hardly news is it??

[AtW]

"British law firm cleared way for Lehman cover-up"

Linklaters, one of Britain’s leading law firms, approved controversial accounting practices that allowed Lehman Brothers to shift billions of dollars of debt off its balance sheet and mask the perilous state of the bank’s finances before its catastrophic collapse in 2008.

A 2,200-page report into the collapse of the 158-year old institution has uncovered evidence that Lehman used “balance sheet manipulation” in the form of an accounting practice known as “Repo 105” without telling investors or regulators that made the business appear healthier.

Lehman had initially sought legal clearance from an American law firm to permit Repo 105 transactions but was denied. It then sought advice from Linklaters in London, which said the deals were possible under English law. (AtW's comment: so US law firms effectively said its not legal, so they move to UK?)

The Repo 105 practice had been in use by Lehmans since 2001 but it was in the bank’s final two years that it was regularly used to alter public perceptions of the bank’s balance sheet.

...

In 2008, just before Lehman filed for bankruptcy, it transferred $50.38 billion in a Repo 105 arrangement, reducing its leverage from 13.9 per cent to 12.1 per cent.

...

More: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/to...cle7059592.ece