One investment bank executive at the center of the housing collapse is trying to absolve himself – and other large bank heads – of blame.
The former head of Lehman Brothers believes it’s the homebuyers who took on high risk loans prior to the economic downturn – and the government that allowed such loans -- who should shoulder most of the blame for the recession.
"Did we try to do everything we possibly could? Yes. Did we fall prey to other agendas? I'll leave it at that," Dick Fuld said at a press conference held in Manhattan on Thursday, according to CNN.
Fuld recently, the former chief executive officer of Lehman Brothers, made his first public appearance since the economic downturn on Thursday.
He laid most of the blame at the feet of government officials who made it possible for poorer families to get into the housing market, believing they helped trigger the economic downturn.
“It’s not just a one single thing, it’s all these things taken together,” he said, according to ThisisMoney, a British finance website.
It also appears he was willing to throw his former colleagues under the proverbial bus.
“Regardless of what you heard about Lehman Brothers’ risk management, I had 27,000 risk managers because they all owned a piece of the firm,” he said.
The speech marked the beginning of a comeback of sorts for the disgraced former executive.
"My motto is: That was then, this is now," Fuld said during the speech. "My mother still loves me. She's 96."
Fuld has not worked in any substantial capacity since the collapse and has been at the centre of several lawsuits, including one that was settled by himself and other Lehman executives for $90 million in 2011.
By Justin da Rosa
"Did we try to do everything we possibly could? Yes. Did we fall prey to other agendas? I'll leave it at that," Dick Fuld said at a press conference held in Manhattan on Thursday, according to CNN.
Fuld recently, the former chief executive officer of Lehman Brothers, made his first public appearance since the economic downturn on Thursday.
He laid most of the blame at the feet of government officials who made it possible for poorer families to get into the housing market, believing they helped trigger the economic downturn.
“It’s not just a one single thing, it’s all these things taken together,” he said, according to ThisisMoney, a British finance website.
It also appears he was willing to throw his former colleagues under the proverbial bus.
“Regardless of what you heard about Lehman Brothers’ risk management, I had 27,000 risk managers because they all owned a piece of the firm,” he said.
The speech marked the beginning of a comeback of sorts for the disgraced former executive.
"My motto is: That was then, this is now," Fuld said during the speech. "My mother still loves me. She's 96."
Fuld has not worked in any substantial capacity since the collapse and has been at the centre of several lawsuits, including one that was settled by himself and other Lehman executives for $90 million in 2011.
By Justin da Rosa
