Klein, realizing that the bankers didn’t understand the structure of the deal, explained it again. Barclays wasn’t going to be investing in Lehman’s “bad bank” alongside the consortium; it was only buying Lehman’s “good bank.” The bankers around the table looked at one another, as his explanation set in. They really were being asked to subsidize a competitor. Barclays would have no stake in Lehman’s worst assets, which they were being asked to take on.
