Goldman Sachs To Take Control Of Lehman`s Specialist Operations
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) will assume control of the Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (LEH) unit that makes markets in stocks on the New York Stock Exchange as the exchange attempts to minimize disruption from Lehman`s bankruptcy filing.
The floor specialists, staff and technology of Lehman`s MarketMakers unit will remain in place under the stewardship of Goldman, said NYSE Euronext (NYX) in a statement. Goldman will also take responsibility for overseeing risk management and clearing the stocks traded. Floor specialists take the other side of trades to "make markets" in stocks that floor brokers want to buy or sell on the New York Stock Exchange.
The number of people affected was not immediately provided by the exchange.
"The arrangement will remain in place until a more permanent alternative can be arranged," said the NYSE.
The exchange will "work toward insuring a smooth transition and a fair and orderly market in all NYSE securities," said a spokesman.
Lehman`s MarketMaker unit is the latest floor specialist to see upheaval, as the advent of automated trading threatens the survival of the NYSE trading floor. Van der Moolen Holdings quit the business in December, handing its operations to Lehman. The number of specialists on the floor fell by half to 200 from the end of 2005 to the end of 2007.