Lehman used 'Repo 105' to move $50 billion off its balance sheet before reporting dates
Lehman Brothers · Investment banking (listed)
The case in brief
Visible before detection
Checks that could have surfaced it, on hindsight
Bank credits vs books
Would have compared quarter-end balances with intra-quarter averages.
Can mislead when: AA only sees the accounts the company links, so an undisclosed account stays invisible. Cash-heavy businesses and timing differences create false flags.
Document authenticity / direct pull
Would have examined the legal opinions behind repo accounting.
Can mislead when: The company can refuse consent, and a refusal is itself a flag. Some banks and co-op banks are not on AA yet.
Governance signals
Would have asked whether the board knew of Repo 105.
Can mislead when: Private companies file late, so these signals are lagging. Kubr uses them to support other flags, not to prove anything alone.
Where Kubr services would have helped
Valuation context
Offered in India- C11 Would have asked whether the board knew of Repo 105.
Financial diligence
Offered in India- C1 Would have compared quarter-end balances with intra-quarter averages.
- C5 Would have examined the legal opinions behind repo accounting.
IC note
Offered in India- C5 Would have examined the legal opinions behind repo accounting.
- C11 Would have asked whether the board knew of Repo 105.
Portfolio monitor
Offered in India- C1 Would have compared quarter-end balances with intra-quarter averages.
- C11 Would have asked whether the board knew of Repo 105.
Mapped from the checks each service runs. A hindsight reading of public records, not a promise that the failure would have been found.
Same pattern
A summary of public documents. It reports what the sources say. It is not Kubr's finding and not a statement of guilt.