'Germany's stupidest bankers' suspended over Lehmans mess-up

[dipsydoodle]

Source: Yahoo News

BERLIN (AFP) - Three executives dubbed "Germany's stupidest bankers" in the press have been suspended from state bank KfW over erroneous transfers of more than 500 million euros (710 million dollars) to the bankrupt Lehman Brothers, the KfW said.

Two board members and a top risk control manager were suspended "pending final clarification of the incident" following a meeting of KfW's supervisory board meeting attended by top ministers including Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck, the bank said in a statement late Thursday.

A law firm has also been hired to see if further "consequences" are appropriate and the bank, already under fire over its rescue of IKB -- Germany's biggest casualty of the subprime crisis -- will subject its business procedures, especially those of risk management, to an "in-depth audit."

The bank state-owned lender mistakenly transferred more than 350 million euros to Lehman Brothers on Monday after the US investment bank filed for bankruptcy protection, and according to the Bild daily the total exposure has since been established at 536 million euros.

Read more: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/afp/20080919/tod-us-finance-banking-germany-offbeat-f62056d.html

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Second similar event. Lehmann London transferred US$6 billion to the USA Friday night expecting its return Monday morning.

I don't believe such mistakes to be in error.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

1. Prediction:

Such actions were performed to meta-cover personal positions.

[aquart]

2. I believe you. I just need you to explain what that means.

I have a hard time with "personal positions" in the hundreds of millions so I need a Dummies explanation for it.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

4. They, themselves...

Had significant personal investments in the companies they used their firm's funds to prop up. After all, so much of the world of finance is about using the wealth of others to get wealthy yourself. So this, while illegal, mush have felt like the normal thing for them to do.

[Karenina]

3. TOR!

;-)

[madrchsod]

5. close to 50% of the forecloses in whiteside county ,illinois

are Deutsch Bank`s. i though the germans were smart enough not to buy bundled mortgages....

[Odin2005]

6. Never underestimate the ability for greed to overwhelm good sense. n/t,

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

7. the executive bonuses have to come from somewhere...

I am sure no executive will leave with less than 50 million dollars,