Lehman head asks why no bailout?

By Rachelle Younglai and Kim Dixon

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Richard Fuld, the disgraced head of Lehman Brothers, said he would wonder "until they put me in the ground" why the U.S. government did not rescue the 158-year-old Wall Street firm and claimed regulators knew the full scale of its condition far before its collapse.

Fuld said he took full responsibility for his actions ahead of the downfall of Lehman, but said U.S. regulators were aware of everything at the firm and knew how it was pricing its distressed assets in the months prior to its bankruptcy.

Despite his acceptance of his role before the collapse, U.S. lawmakers expressed outrage to Fuld about Lehman on Monday, saying that Fuld, board members, regulators and Congress all shared blame for its downfall.

"I want to be very clear. I take full responsibility for the decisions that I made and for the actions that I took based on the information that we had at the time," Fuld told a congressional panel. "I feel horrible about what has happened to the company and its effects on so many."

Fuld said he did not know why the U.S. government chose to help other financial companies, but not Lehman, as it hurtled towards disaster.

Several lawmakers asked why the government stepped in to help insurance company American International Group.

"Until the day they put me in the ground I will wonder," Fuld said in his first public comments since Lehman filed for bankruptcy protection. "I do not know why we were the only one" that was not rescued.

One day after Lehman filed for bankruptcy protection, U.S. authorities stepped in to rescue AIG with a plan to lend the insurer up to $85 billion (48.7 billion pound). The panel will hear from former AIG executives on Tuesday.