Firms sift through Lehman real estate holdings

Hundreds of properties in the Lehman Brothers’ $16 billion real estate portfolio await loan restructuring, according to the firm overseeing the fallen financial services firm’s bankruptcy. The process is revealing new information about Lehman’s borrowers, such as Miami group WSG Development. This proceeding could be particularly influential, as it may serve as a guide for U.S. banks with massive mortgage-backed security holdings, according to the Wall Street Journal. Even as the market is still down, advisory firm head Bryan Marsal, of Alvarez & Marsal, said that his group is pushing forward to clean up Lehman’s real estate mess. “It’s not a great time to sell today,” Marsal said, adding that his group doesn’t plan to “passively [wait] for a better market.”