This article on the Lehman Minibond Series appeared recently in the Business Times.
Should Minibond Series 3 Have Taken the Retail Route?
(Access to the article is available after 6pm)
It talks about some things we have spoke about – that the Minibond is a synthetic derivative product, and how many retail investors bought into it thinking it was a normal bond. There were even some brokers who didn’t know the nature of the product they were selling.
There was also an issue of conflict of interest with Lehman Brothers being all 3 of the arranger, issuer and swap counterparty.