Life firms reveal £300m Lehman exposure

Life and pensions provider Aviva reports a total debt exposure of £270m plus what it calls “minimum” equity exposure, while Friends Provident says it has a total nominal debt exposure to Lehman of £18m, predominantly in the form of senior debt. Both companies say they expect the total loss from their holdings to be “substantially lower” than their total face value exposure as a result of “a number of factors including taxes and recoveries”. Aviva says its debt exposure to Lehman Brothers is mostly senior debt but also includes money market exposure and a “small amount” of credit default...