Discussion Paper

Creditor Recovery in Lehman’s Bankruptcy


Abstract: Expectations of creditor recovery were low when the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy process started. On the day the firm filed for bankruptcy in September 2008, the average price of Lehman’s senior bonds implied a recovery rate of about 30 percent for senior creditors. A month later the bond price was implying a recovery rate of 9 percent, consistent with results from Lehman’s CDS auction. Two and a half years later, Lehman’s estate estimated that the recovery rate for holding company creditors would be just 16 percent. So, ten years after the filing, how much did creditors actually recover?

Keywords: Lehman bankruptcy; creditor recovery; chapter 11;

JEL Classification: G33;

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Provider: Federal Reserve Bank of New York

Part of Series: Liberty Street Economics

Publication Date: 2019-01-14

Number: 20190114a