DealBook: European Central Bank to Recover Most of Its Lehman Loans

FRANKFURT — Some investors and creditors may have lost billions when Lehman Brothers went bankrupt in 2008, but it looks as if the European Central Bank will get almost all of its money back.

An effort of more than three years to unwind Lehman assets will recover almost all the 8.5 billion euros, or $11 billion, that the central bank stood to lose, Joachim Nagel, a member of the executive board of the German central bank, the Bundesbank, said Thursday.

The Bundesbank has managed the disposal of assets that the failed investment bank used as collateral for European Central Bank loans. The Bundesbank said Thursday that it was close to selling one of the last remaining assets, a complex package of real estate loans known as Excalibur.

‘‘When we’re all done, we will come close,’’ Mr. Nagel told reporters at a briefing.

Lehman’s German unit had used 33 securities as collateral to borrow 8.5 billion euros from the European Central Bank before its collapse in September 2008. Afterward, the European Central Bank — or strictly speaking, the so-called Eurosystem network of euro-zone central banks — was stuck with the assets.

Initially, the Bundesbank estimated the probable losses at 5.7 billion euros, but continuously reduced that figure as markets for the assets recovered and they could be sold for more than expected. In addition, some of the holdings continued to pay interest or dividends.

Of the 33 Lehman securities, 28 have been sold. The largest remaining asset is Excalibur, a package of loans and derivatives based on European commercial real estate mortgages. Lehman constructed Excalibur in 2008 and used it to borrow 2.16 billion euros from the European Central Bank, the Bundesbank said.

The Financial Times reported on Thursday that Lone Star Funds, an American private equity company that specializes in distressed debt, would buy Excalibur for 1.8 billion euros.

The Bundesbank did not confirm the report, saying that talks to sell Excalibur are not yet concluded. But the bank noted that only a few large investors would be able to handle an asset of that size and complexity.

Lone Star did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The remaining four Lehman assets are relatively small, Mr. Nagel said.

While the European Central Bank will get back almost all the money that it lent to Lehman, it may still suffer an unspecified loss, plus the considerable cost of administering and winding down the assets.

Mr. Nagel conceded that central bankers might not have scrutinized the assets closely enough when accepting them as collateral. Standards have since been tightened, he said.

‘‘It went well,’’ Mr. Nagel said of the asset sales, ‘‘but should remain the exception.’’

Mark Scott contributed reporting from London.

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