Lehman claims seen up to 990 mln pounds

Thu Sep 18, 2008 3:35am BST

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Royal Bank of Scotland Group is facing between $1.5 billion and $1.8 billion (825 million to 990 million pounds) in claims against bankrupt U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers, an RBS lawyer said in a court hearing on Wednesday.

The claims are partially based on an unsecured guarantee from Lehman and connected to trading losses with Lehman subsidiaries, Martin Bienenstock, a lawyer who represents RBS said in U.S. bankruptcy court in Manhattan.

RBS is one of hundreds of creditors left in the lurch when Lehman declared bankruptcy on Monday. Unsecured claims, such as those mentioned by Bienenstock, are often among the last to be paid in U.S. bankruptcy proceedings.

A spokesman for RBS did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

(Reporting by Emily Chasan and Dan Wilchins)

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