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Korean Bank Warned Off Lehman Bros. Buy

Firm may be too big a risk: official

By Nick McMaster, Newser Staff

Posted Aug 25, 2008 2:49 PM CDT

(Newser) – The Korea Development Bank was warned today of rushing into a bid for Lehman Brothers by South Korea’s top banking official, the Financial Times reports. A Lehman investment may constitute too much risk for a state-owned bank, Jun Kwang-woo warned after last week’s news that, though KDB’s talks with the US investment giant hadn’t reach a deal, one was still a “possibility.”

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (1)]

Lehman Brothers chairman and CEO Richard Fuld is seen in a January file photo. (AP Photo)

Korea Development Bank "should take a cautious approach" in looking to take a major stake in Lehman Brothers, the country's top regulator warned today. (AP Photo)

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We welcome any efforts led by the private sector to go global, but it may not be proper for state-owned financial institutions to lead the role and take on excessive burdens. - Jun Kwang-woo, South Korea’s
top financial regulator

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Korean Bank Warned Off Lehman Bros. Buy