Analysts expecting large loss from Lehman

Some analysts are girding for a third-quarter loss of €1.2 billion (£964 million) or more from US investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc, instead of the modest profit they had previously expected, the Wall Street Journal reported.

If losses keep piling up, Lehman could need to raise additional capital beyond the €4 billion it got in June, the paper said. Lehman is considering pre-announcing its earnings this month, the paper said, citing a person familiar with the matter. The end of Lehman's fiscal third quarter is less than two weeks away, and the bank typically announces its third-quarter earnings in mid-September. In June, the bank posted its first quarterly loss as a public company, of €1.9 billion.

The likelihood of back-to-back quarterly losses is fuelled by widely anticipated write-downs in a portfolio saddled with more than €34 billion in risky real-estate and mortgage assets, the Wall Street Journal said.

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (Lehman Brothers) serves the financial needs of corporations, governments and municipalities, institutional clients and high-net-worth individuals worldwide.

The Company provides an array of services in equity and fixed income sales, trading and research, investment banking, asset management, private investment management and private equity. It operates three business segments: Capital markets, investment banking and investment management.

Lehman Brothers generates client-flow revenues from institutional, corporate, government and high-net-worth clients by advising on and structuring transactions; serving as a market maker and/or intermediary in the global marketplace, including having securities and other financial instrument products; originating loans for distribution to clients in the securitization or principals market; providing investment management and advisory services, and acting as an underwriter to clients.

Lehman declined to comment.