Extreme Money

Epilogue: Nemesis

Nemesis – in classical Greek mythology, the goddess of retribution and downfall.

Marginal

‘What the f**k do you think you are doing!’ Uncertain whether the question is rhetorical, I reply: ‘Good to hear from you, Mailer.’ ‘Are you acting for JR against us?’ As it happens, I am acting for the administrator appointed by the fund’s investors. Earlier, I accompanied the administrators, the insolvency firm of Check & Charge Partners, to a meeting at Mailer’s employer. JR’s Leveraged Structured Credit Fund (LSCF) owns several billion AAA and AA-rated MBSs, CDOs and CDO²s, funded 95 per cent by money borrowed from Mailer’s bank.

The market value of the securities had fallen 50 per cent, well below the level of debt. The bank wanted ...