Lehman Says Did Not Access Fed Discount Window

Lehman Brothers Holdings said Tuesday that it has not accessed the Federal Reserve's discount window in an attempt to raise funds.

CNBC.com

"We did not access the primary dealer facility (Fed Window) today," Lehman Treasurer Paolo Tonucci told CNBC. "The last time we accessed the facility was on April 16 for testing purposes."

Tonucci said Lehman ended the first quarter with liquidity of $34 billion and finished the second quarter well above $40 billion.

Lehman shares, which had been trading lower on talk that the investment bank would need to raise capital, trimmed its losses in response to Tonucci's comments. However, the stock remained down about 9 percent amid ongoing fears about its balance sheet.

Earlier Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal said Lehman was looking to raise about $3 billion to $4 billion in order to deleverage its business, citing sources familiar with the matter.

But some analysts said they expected there was no urgent need for Lehman to further bolster its balance sheet.

"In our view, there is no immediate need to raise equity capital, and the company would only take this painful step in an effort to cease the drumbeat of negative perceptions," David Trone, an analyst for Fox-Pitt, Kelton, wrote in a research note.

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