US investment bank Lehman Brothers has announced plans to sell £2.3bn of its UK mortgage assets to investment firm BlackRock Financial Management.
The business said it was taking action to significantly reduce its exposure to "residential mortgages" and "commercial real estate ".
The majority of the assets were raised through Lehman's various UK sub-prime lending arms, which offered a range of mortgages and secured loans to customers in the "near prime" bracket, as well as those with "unlimited adverse" profiles.
Lehman announced the move yesterday in response to speculation that it was struggling to raise capital, but kept quiet over the content of the assets that were being discussed for transfer to BlackRock.
Ruth Lavelle, press spokesperson for Lehman Brothers, said no further details on the content of the assets would be released.
"We are not breaking down in detail what the portfolio is that we are selling to BlackRock," she explained. "That is between BlackRock and our guys here; to be completed in early Q4."




