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ZACH: If you talk
to 100 people,

102 are going to tell you
they hate bankers,

but most people won't
be able to tell you why.

Is it because
we're privileged?

It can't be.

Some of us did dirty jobs
to get through college.

I know one woman who
paid her way through Princeton

working as a call girl
for the mafia.

Is it because
we make a lot of money?

-Well, some of us do...
-[CASH REGISTER DINGS]

...and some of us don't.

In general, people resent
those they perceive
to be on top.

That's how the French
Revolution happened.

[SCREAMING]

And in the end, perception can
matter more than the truth.

You could have been born
like I was,

on the wrong side
of the tracks in Tennessee.

Actually, when you're
from Tennessee,

it's all the wrong side
of the tracks.

[MOBILE RINGING]

But once you get
to Wall Street,

no matter how you got here,

you give up your right to say
you're a man of the people.

Here, we're all the same.

And we all went down together.

[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]

Dick Fuld had given his life
to Lehman Brothers

and was well known
on Wall Street

for his unique personal style.

His nickname is "The Gorilla".

I can't give you
more collateral!

No, not until
we've had a chance
to raise a bit more cap...

We're under-capitalised, yes,
like everyone and their...

Jamie... Jamie. Jamie!

I need you up here today.

Jamie! What do you
want me to do?

-You want me to wire you
now five bil...
-[PHONE RINGING]

No, you're unreasonable!

I've had Paulson
up my ass all week,

our stock's dropped
75% since Monday.

We're in freefall!
Everyone's dumping our stock!

And you ask me for more...

Wait.
Why is this phone ringing?

-You want me to...
-Hello? Hi.

No. Get on the desk.

Hold on.
Jamie, I'll call you back.

Yes, I know, I know, I know.

Christ, you have
no idea what...

Yeah, I...
These ribs are cold.

No, go ahead.

Yeah, give me the list.
Okay, yeah.

-These ribs are cold.
-Some week.

Three times the usual ribs.

ZACH: It's true, Lehman had
been to dark places before,

and Dick Fuld had always
pulled us back from the brink.

When he broke
the disastrous news

to shareholders
over a speakerphone,

he hoped the world
would believe this was just
another one of those times.

We have regretfully
had to write down

our commercial
real estate assets

from 40 billion

to a market value
of 33 billion.

[SIGHS]

The good news is
we have a strategy in place

which we feel
will appease the markets.

We're currently
fine-tuning a plan

to spin off our commercial
real estate portfolio

into another company
which, appropriately,
will be called SpinCo.

There, it won't be a drag
on the balance sheet.

ZACH: The market
wasn't appeased.

There was a run on the bank.
Everyone was dumping shares.

Our rating was
even downgraded.

By Friday afternoon,
we were gasping for breath.

DICK: I want everyone
on message about this.

[INHALES]

Our situation is serious,

but it's not critical.

I repeat,
the situation is not critical.

Bank of America wants us.

Barclays wants us.
We can choose.

And whichever we choose
will fill us with new air!

I need everyone to believe!

You're on the 31st floor,
God damn it!

And I want this message
to trickle downwards.

Can Mr McDade have a minute?

This better be
good news, Bart.

Hank Paulson's flying up here.

Here?

The Federal Reserve.
He's calling a meeting
with the banking chiefs.

What for?

He wants them to bail us out.

He wants our competitors
to bail us out?

He wants us to go to the Fed.
He doesn't want us
in the meeting.

He just wants us to be there,
waiting.

-Somewhere. I don't know.
-Is he kidding?

I'm not going to the Fed
to sit outside

some goddamn boardroom
while Paulson and my enemies
decide my fate!

Look, Dick,
he doesn't want you there.

He just wants us.

[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]

[INAUDIBLE]

Thank you all for coming.

I know it must seem
a rather cruel joke

for you to get a call
at 5:00 on a Friday

asking you to come down
to the Fed,

and I have no doubt
you were all eager
to start your weekends.

I'm sorry if you had plans.

I hope the presence of
Treasury Secretary Paulson...

Jesus, Tim,
we all know each other here.

...will impress upon you
the gravity of the situation.

You've all watched Lehman
take a nosedive.

They're not going to survive
trading on Monday

and we wanted
to ask for your...

Inspiration.

You're the best minds
on Wall Street...

Tim, you know,
I think you can cut the crap
about now, hmm?

There's no public money for
a bail out of Lehman Brothers.

[MEN GASP]

If we can't figure out a way
to keep them standing,

they're going to be bankrupt
when trading opens in Japan
on Monday.

Now, what game
are you playing?

There's no taxpayer money
for this.

-MACK: Bullshit.
-Not a penny.

It's not bullshit.

Well, if it's not bullshit,
what the hell are
we all doing here?

We'll arbitrate,
we'll facilitate.

-We'll broker a deal...
-We get it.

This is your hardball
starting position.

HANK: This is not
a starting position.

This is the position.

TIM: And even if the money
were accessible,

-there would be
no political will...
-JAMIE: Political will?

Was there political will to
bail out Fannie and Freddie?

-Things were different then.
-Five days ago!

-[MEN CHUCKLING]
-MACK: So...

What do you mean?

Arbitrate what?
Facilitate what?

You brought us here
to brainstorm?

Damn it, Jamie, are you
the only one at this table
with no exposure to Lehmans?

Or perhaps you've been
too busy bombarding them
with demands for collateral

to notice that they're
going belly up!

-I have the right!
-Of course.

I have a fiduciary obligation.

How dare you! How dare you...

TIM: Calm down, Jamie,
he didn't mean...

He did mean it!
One more comment like that...

-And why isn't Fuld here?
-You want him here?

HANK: There's plenty
of blame to go around.

But if they go down,
we're all going to take a hit.
[CLEARS THROAT]

You're hanging Lehman
out to dry?

So, do it then.

I got a train to catch.

The West is fucked.
We fucked it up.

Oh, not just you and me,
all of us.

The West,
it's done, it's over.

You wanna call it a game?

This is the game.

You want your
great-grandchildren
speaking Chinese?

The dollar's going to go.

We had Rome, then Europe,
then this.

Us, this thing with cars
and stereos and hula hoops,

and we screwed it all up.

We ran through it all,
this stuff,

and we've come out
on the other side
where it's...

I don't know.

Where is this place?

Oh, yeah,
we have this one weekend

where maybe we can
come up with something

to hold it all together
a little while longer!

KEN: It seems that you've got
about $85 billion worth
of troubled loans

which puts you at least
10 billion underwater.

DICK: Ken, you're
Bank of America,
you're retail.

Let my people go over
the books with you.

KEN: We've been
over the books.

DICK: Yeah, but if we
go over them with you...

KEN: So that you can help us
read them correctly?

Dick, we're not confused
about your numbers.

-Your good assets
aren't enough to...
-Our "good assets"?

We're fucking Lehman Brothers!

Do you know how much
this company's worth?

Well yes, Dick,
I believe I do.

Have you been to Paulson?

We asked him
to take $70 billion

-of the stink
off your books, but...
-70 billion?

Not my number, Dick.
We have a board.

But Paulson's
offering nothing.

He's trying to facilitate
some sort of

private sector
solution, but...

Ken, can you
hold on just one...

Sure.

[TOY SQUEAKS]

[BREATHING HEAVILY]

-I'm here.
-I'll call you
if anything changes.

If it's any comfort,
Paulson is having another
valuation done tonight.

-Another? Of my...
-By a mixed,
disinterested group...

Ken, don't decide
anything yet.

I can get Paulson
to turn around on this.
I'll call you back.

-Zach!
-I'm here.

I want you down
at the Fed tonight.

Get in on that valuation.
Get Paulson on the phone!

-SAMANTHA: I'm on it!
-Mixed? Disinterested?

I bet he's got a team
built from his cronies
at Goldman Sachs.

Band of fucking villains!

Conspiring like
Roman senators!
Private sector... Move!

Paulson's out of reach.

[INHALES DEEPLY]

[EXHALES] Right.

[DIALLING]

[INHALES]

Harvey, it's Dick Fuld.

I need you in my office.

No, I'm afraid it can't.

[SIGHS]

So, there are two banks
courting Lehman right now,

Bank of America,
and Barclays in the UK.

But neither Ken Lewis
nor Bob Diamond will touch it

while it's loaded down
with toxic assets.

You want us to buy
Lehman's toxic assets?

Well, maybe there's a way
you could ring-fence them.
Something.

Look, if you're telling us
that you're not backstopping
anyone any more,

we're going to be
fighting for our lives.

But if you did decide
to buy them,
as a consortium...

That would be...
Is that even legal? [SCOFFS]

Aren't you asking us to risk
our shareholders'...

TIM: That's what you do
every day of your lives,
don't you?

Risk your shareholders' money.

Just running the numbers,
if you took on these assets
as a group,

you'd probably each take
a smaller hit than you would
on a Lehman bankruptcy.

We're not all exposed
to Lehman in the same degree.

Oh, community spirit.
That warms my heart.

You're all exposed.

And you're all in line
in order of size.

Merrill is next,
then Morgan Stanley.

-We're not next.
What are you talking about?
-MACK: That's just bullshit.

Have you read our
quarterly statements, Hank?

Yes, John,
I know your figures.

I even know what you spent
on breakfast.

You're next in line, trust me.

Okay, so I want someone
to buy our toxic assets. Huh?

Where does it end?

Where does it stop?

I mean, why them, and not us?

HANK: Yeah, why them?

Maybe we should
just let them fail.

Maybe that'll be the play
that washes away all our sins.

You decide.

What if we can't agree
on a solution?

Then we have to start
anticipating what will happen
when Lehman does go bankrupt,

and contemplate how
the rest of the world

can contain the damage.

I think Bank of America's
free now.

-They're not courting Lehman?
-No. I think that's dead.

They're liquid.
They love our shop.

-They love retail.
-It's good to have options.

I think we should make a move.
I think you should
give Lewis a call.

It's a bad time to look weak.

We'd only be selling a stake.

You know what people are gonna
think if we sell a stake now?

-What?
-It's a down payment,
the thin end of the wedge.

Who cares what it looks like?
Nobody's lending.

Lehman's falling apart
because they can't borrow
their operating costs.

John,
we need a line of credit,

and we need it from Monday,

or I don't think
we're gonna last out the week.

[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]

The first thing
you need to know is
none of this is happening.

The second thing
you need to know is

you don't discuss this
with anyone.

If anyone saw you come in
or sees you go out,

you were here
to advise on the sale.

What's not happening?

We're not considering
bankruptcy.

We do not need to prepare
a Chapter 7 petition.

Barclays wants us,
and Bank of America
will come around.

As an exercise, however,
we will put together
a bare-bones filing

so that we know
every strategic position
has been covered.

And when do you
not want this done by?

This weekend.

[SCOFFS]

[LAUGHS]

First of all,
we don't have a team.

Second, you don't have a team.

Everyone's working on
due diligence for the mergers.

Third, nobody can put together

a bankruptcy of this size
in two days.

And fourth, the government's
not going to let you go down.

Paulson's opening position
is that we sink or swim.

[SCOFFS] Are you kidding?

[SCOFFS]

It would be
a financial disaster

the likes of which the world
has never seen before.

It would be like
the American government
itself going bankrupt.

It would be like the US dollar
being rendered worthless

and everyone being told
to start over

with goats and pebbles.

It would be like Rome selling
the Vatican to the Japanese
to make it a hotel,

and hiring the Pope
as a bellboy.

[SCOFFS] It's just a fantasy.

It's a "through
the looking glass" world.

It's something from
the book of Revelations.

DICK: "And he cried mightily
with a strong voice,

"saying, 'Babylon the great
is fallen, is fallen,

"'and is become
the habitation of devils,

"'and a hold
of every foul spirit,

"'and a cage of every unclean
and hateful bird...'"

"For all nations have drunk
of the wine of the wrath
of her fornication,

"and the kings of the earth
have committed
fornication with her

"and the merchants
of the earth are waxed rich

"through the abundance
of her delicacies."

[CLOCK TICKING]

Okay.

We've only got a few hours
to value this portfolio.

This is gonna be
your best friend.

All right, guys,
I know it looks like a lot,

but if we put on
our best heads, we'll...

[ALL MURMURING]

A lot of people ask me how
the subprime mortgage crisis
brought down Wall Street.

Well, my sister knows.
That's how she got her house.

First, we found ourselves
a house.

Then we found
a mortgage broker.

The waitress down there at
the Cracker Barrel Restaurant
said he could work miracles.

So, we handed him
our pay slips
and he made corrections

using a free programme
you get from the Internet
which changes pictures.

A lot of people use it
to make themselves
look skinnier or prettier,

but we just used it
to make ourselves look rich,

which I'm sure the Lord
would think was not as bad

because you're not changing
the looks God gave you.

You're just changing
what you earn,
which God allows anyway,

because if he didn't,
then nobody would be able
to apply for a different job.

Then, the broker phoned
somebody called "a lender".

Now, she barely even
looked at our paperwork.

She just pushed "send" button
and our forms were approved

and off to New York
where people in white coats

worked throughout the night,
putting all the documents
into different kinds of piles.

Then they send these documents

on to the bankers,
like my brother.

And from now on,
they're called "securities,"

even though nothing about them
has really changed

and they used to just be
called "mortgage contracts".

Then, once they're
called "securities,"

they're a product
that you can sell,

like...like a table,
or makeup.

Now, here's the weird thing
they do.

The bankers pay a man to
give the securities a grade,
like in school.

Now they're called CDOs.

And the bankers,
they buy and sell these

back and forth to each other
for some reason.

Then they mix them up
some more,

staple a few together,

and send them back
to the man for a new rating.

And all the bankers,
they keep buying and
they keep selling the CDOs,

and they keep chopping them up
and putting them back together
in different ways,

and selling them
for double or triple
what they paid for them,

and every time they do this,
the CDO gets
thicker and thicker

and that rating gets
weirder and weirder.

[TELEPHONES RINGING]

Now, the bankers
liked the CDOs so much,

they wanted more
and more of them,

and they didn't care
if somebody wasn't able
to pay their mortgages

because they just wanted
the loan papers
to call securities

and then to turn into CDOs

'cause they're gonna sell them
just as fast as they could
anyway

and make a huge whopping
profit overnight.

So, they didn't care
what the paper's worth.

I mean, paper really
ain't worth nothing

unless two crazy people's
willing to pay each other
for them.

But when a lot of people
didn't pay their mortgages,

some people remembered
that the houses and loans

were somehow
connected to the CDOs
in some funny legal way,

and that this was bad,

then nobody wanted
to buy the CDOs any more.

So, suddenly people owned
and couldn't get rid of a lot
of very, very expensive things

that were really only
worthless paper

that was somehow
connected to things
that weren't even there.

[DOG BARKING]

[WIND WHISTLING]

[SIGHS]

[SCOFFS]

-What?
-This.

We have some of that,
but we've marked it at 75.

-We marked it at 90.
-And we're really...

-I know.
-Yeah, aggressive.

And look at this.
We value this at 43.

You remember
how you valued it?

-[CHUCKLES] You've
marked it at 60. That's...
-I didn't personally.

Yeah, but you're here.
You're the one who's here.

I'm here, but I'm not.

Look, you're...
What do you mean,
you're here but you're not?

I mean, you know, officially.

[SIGHS]

[MOBILE VIBRATING]

Greg.

I wanted your first
thought of the day to be
Bank of America.

-I wanted the first words
you heard to be "call"...
-I'm still in bed.

Now, we need to make
our intentions clear.

Unambiguous, using words
of one syllable.

We want to discuss
a deal today.

With a line of credit
available Monday.

We're so different, you and I.

You know I come from
the school of soft-sell.

-We don't have
time to soft-sell.
-It's not a question of time.

Soft-sell is an energy.

It can be done quickly.

[SIGHS] Now,
I'm going to get up,

I'm gonna have a coffee
before I have another thought.

When you're watching Bart make
his pitch today, just imagine,
next week, being in his place.

What if we save Lehman?
Have you thought about that?

What if we all pool our
resources and rescue them?

What happens
to the next company,
the next one up in size?

It's us, John.
You know it's us.

Can you believe
there's nowhere
to get ribs in the city

this time of the morning?
What's the report?

Uh, they've just finished
going through the books.

What's the overall feeling?

Um... Philosophical.

-Is the Barclays team there?
-Nowhere we can see them.

You mean, you haven't
even seen Diamond yet?

I know he's in New York.

I know he's in New York!
Is he at the Fed?

There's a lot of work
to be done before we have
something to show him.

He's probably sleeping.

Probably? Thanks.
Probably. Probably!

Hey! Hey!

Samantha! I want you
to double security.

I want someone
at every elevator,
on every floor.

And triple the guard
at the front!

-What happened?
-Now!

Security?

BART: So the idea is that

we spin off another company,
a "bad bank,"

where we can place
all of our toxic assets.

We're gonna call it SpinCo.

And we just need the shortfall
funded by outside investors.

We just shift $33 billion
of real estate

into the new company,
a "good bank,"

which we are gonna
call CleanCo.

[ALL SCOFFING]

-JAMIE: And who would
control SpinCo?
-We would.

[LAUGHS] Go on, take it.

Now, Jamie, we need
to set aside our bad debts

so that we can carry on
doing what we do best.

-Which is?
-[CHUCKLES] Jamie. Jamie.

Come on, Jamie.
We're all friends, huh?

Here's 10 bucks
for a happy ending.

MACK: If these valuations
are accurate,

there's a $15 billion hole.

Accurate?
They were done overnight
with a pot of coffee.

If Paulson had let me
put together a team...

Right, yeah.
The blind leading the blind.

Oh, sure, you do
everything by the book,
don't you, Blankfein?

[CHUCKLES] Tell me, Jamie,
could you value a CDO?

No.

-But I know a man who could.
-No you don't, no.

You know a man who'll stamp
triple-A on your ass

if you get him a floor seat
at the Lakers game.

You can't value a CDO?

LLOYD: Whoever says he can
is full of shit.

We might as well
pick a number out of the air.

How much do you need
for the bad bank?

-25 billion.
-What?

Last week, it was
worth 40 billion,

Wednesday, it was 33,

and last night,
it was valued at 21.

If we hurry and buy it now,
we should be able to lose
all our money by Friday.

Our portfolio is supported
by eight billion in equity,

and that is
a conservative estimate.

Conservative? Who taught you
to be conservative, McDade?
Dick Fuld?

Conservative...
Where does this end?

What happens
when Merrill goes down?

We're not going down.

Thain, if you stepped away
from the Bloomberg cameras

long enough to read
your own balance sheet,

you'd see it was
as bad as Dick Fuld's.

LLOYD: No, no, no, no.

Today, we're here to deal
with Lehman Brothers.

Whatever happens next,
maybe Paulson won't be so...

-What?
-Intransigent.

We won't be needing
government money.

I'm afraid I have
to excuse myself.

[DOOR OPENS]

[DOOR CLOSES]

Ken, it's John Thain.

Mr Thain, to what
do I owe this pleasure?

-I'm at the Fed in New York.
-Yes, I heard something
was going on down there.

I heard you've closed
the book on Lehman.

My due diligence team is
flying back this afternoon.

Perhaps, they should stay.

Meaning?

Perhaps, you'd like to
discuss other opportunities.

This sounds like
the sort of chat we should
be having in person.

Yes. I believe it is.

I have Dick Fuld
on the other line.

Tell him I've left
for New York.

I believe he's in the air
already. Any message?

No, he's got my numbers.

Look, if we're going
to get Barclays,

we need to buy it at a premium
to the market value.

-I agree.
-I think we should pay the 25.

You're all crazy!

Bart, Ian,
could you give us a few?

Yeah, okay.

[DOOR OPENS]

[DOOR CLOSES]

I think we should
backstop Lehman.

So, they overvalued
their portfolio.

We all try to maximise
our perceived value.

You wrote the book, Blankfein.

JAMIE: But I think
we should structure
the deal in such a way

that the mortgages
pay us back over time.

Yes. But also,

now we know that
none of us is too big to fail.

None of us is too precious

that the government is gonna
step in at the last minute
and save our asses.

Did he say asses or assets?

I think we might
also talk about structuring

a rainy day fund
for those of us who...

Survive.

-Samantha, get...
-Yes?

Don't worry. I'll do it.

[DIALLING]

[MOBILE RINGING]

Paulson.

[INHALES DEEPLY]

Hank Paulson.

It's Dick.

[SIGHS]

Yeah, I know, Dick,
we helped Bear,

and they're a lot smaller
than you are.

Got any new material?

Have you guys
come up with anything?

Nothing legal.

If you say it would be
illegal to help us

because we're
under-collateralised...

I'd be off your
Christmas list?

I think you do what you do.

I think you get
something in your head...

Just like you do.

I think, maybe the two of us
should learn to dither
a little more.

This is a beautiful old bank.

25,000 jobs.

-History.
-Oh, that history.

We're all made
of the same stuff.

How... How can we just be
cut apart from the rest?

It doesn't make sense.

I don't know if we aren't
making sense now

or if we're just starting
to make sense.

You can't say
we've run out of money.

This isn't the kind of money
you can run out of.

Oh, you're right.
There's money out there.

There's money
all over the place.

It's just not so obvious
how to get your hands on it.
That's all.

-Hank...
-Not to say,
you didn't get close though.

Blackstone, Colony,
JE Robert.

Why jump to sell just after
a dip in the share price?

And Korea.

The money was
on the table, Dick.

Only you never thought
it was enough.

You could've solved
your liquidity problem

right there, but no,

you were just sure that
your luck was going to change.

"If I only hold out
one more trading day."

You were holding
a pair of eights, Dick,

and you bet the farm
on the river card.

If I thought there was a note
of superiority in your...

Time came when you should
have folded, and you didn't.

Something in you told you
to take the leap.

[SCOFFS]

You were remarkable.

The blindness was exquisite.

The problem is

we're not dealing
in months any more.

Now, it's a matter
of hours, minutes.

Let me ask you this.

Is what you're doing now,

is this the thing
that's most likely,

when you look back in a year,
to make you say...

"Shit.

"With what little we knew,
we did it,

"we put the pieces
back together.

"I couldn't see the future,
but I just

"had that luck and it all
fell together just right."

Is that what you're gonna say?

No.

No, I don't think anything
I do this weekend

is going to make me say that.

What would you do,

if you were me?

Don't pick at the bone yard.

Bank of America's dead.

You've got Barclays.

That's what you've got.

Barclays.

[CALL DISCONNECTS]

[EXHALES]

[WATER RUNNING]

[SCOFFS]

[EXHALES]

They agreed to 25.

[SIGHS] And what is
Barclays saying?

They're reviewing some
of the initial deal points,

but their chiefs agreed to 25!

-Dick, it's a victory for us.
-Fuck the chiefs!

How did Barclays react?

We didn't see
anybody from Barclays.

-Diamond wasn't at the Fed?
-Yeah, he could've been there.

You didn't notice
if Bob Diamond was at the Fed?

I heard somebody laughing.
It sounded like his laugh.

Where did you hear
the laughing?

[SIGHS]
Well, sort of all over.

[SIGHS]

Get back to the Fed.
Tell me when Diamond shows.

[DOOR CLOSES]

I understand you sold more
than $30 billion worth of CDOs

at 22 cents on the dollar.

It was a risk-reduction
strategy,

but it left us
well capitalised.

If you were well capitalised,
you wouldn't be here.

But what I want to know is,
what other time bombs
have you got on the books?

Everyone has risky assets.

But you want me
to buy your company as is.

I'm going to need to know
where the dirty laundry
is buried.

[CHUCKLES]

Uh, we don't want
to sell Merrill Lynch.

We want to offer you
a 10% stake.

But we want
to buy it outright.

That's our only position.

I've always loved your shop.

I love how you bring
Wall Street to New Mexico.

We're both retail.

-We're a good fit.
-I only took over Merrill
nine months ago.

I didn't take it over
to sell it.

You see those pictures?

They're what
I call "real art".

They would form the kind of
exhibitions Bank of America
might once have bankrolled,

but now we find ourselves
funding modern art as well,

art that can insult everything

you and I have worked
our whole lives

to make sacred.

Some of it to me looks
like a road accident

or a human being
turned inside out.

But those that matter,
culturally, I mean,

like to stand back,
arms folded,

brows furrowed
in just the right way,

assessing the disturbed minds
of psychopaths

and getting from this
a grim kind of satisfaction,

I freely admit,

remains unavailable
to my own sensibilities.

The Judas Kiss.

Exquisite, isn't it?

But time has moved on,
Mr Thain.

The brand has to move on.

The world is different now.

We are currently financing
an exhibition of paintings

by Francis Bacon
at the Tate Museum in London.

Starts today.

Do you know what
his paintings look like?

[SCOFFS]

I leave that sort of thing
to my wife.

Our name, Bank of America,
is on that exhibition.

History is happening,
Mr Thain,

right here, this weekend.

No one is going to blame you
for keeping up with it.

[SIGHS]

[EXHALES]

[ELEVATOR PINGS]

[ELEVATOR DOOR OPENS]

[DOOR OPENS]

HANK: Is that Diamond?
TIM: No.

Well, I hope he looks pleased
when he reads this.

-I hope he doesn't.
-Why?

Because if he looks pleased,

it might mean he intends to
pull Barclays out of the game.

Whereas if he's poker-faced,

it probably means
he's come to play hardball.

Some people look poker-faced
even when they're happy.

Some people distrust ecstasy.

So, if he goes
for these deal points,

you think our chances are
pretty good then, don't you?

There's a lot of other stuff
to get through,

but this term sheet
looking the way it does,

that's one gigantic problem
off our hands.

I'm glad you think so.

To me,
there's either getting rid
of the whole problem

or being stuck with
the whole problem.

There's nothing in between.

[DOOR OPENS]

It's Diamond. He's coming.

I hear you're talking
to Ken Lewis.

[SCOFFS]

Um, we've had
an informal, um...

Don't worry about it.

We don't need you to stay
if your time can be
better spent elsewhere.

Thank you.

If you can work out
a deal with him,

it's one less thing
we have to worry about.

The world is going
to hell in a hand basket.

AIG is in the building.

They're haemorrhaging
liquidity.

By Wednesday, they're gonna be
worth minus five billion.

[SCOFFS]

Jesus, these numbers.

Twenty years ago,
you never heard them.

Are you going to help them?

AIG.

We have to.

Their credit default swaps

insure half the western
banking system.

If we didn't bail them out,

all that is solid
melts into air.

I'll go and see Lewis.

Hank,

I'm going to push
for a good price.

[CHUCKLES]

I'd expect nothing less.

Oh, and, John.

Just so we're clear,

I'm not telling you
what to do.

-Oh!
-Rise and shine
to a brand-new day.

[GASPS]

I thought I was dreaming.

-We got it?
-They agreed to the terms.

I heard Bob Diamond even had
a little twinkle in his eye.

-He agreed to the terms?
-I heard he liked the terms,

-but that's just
the first hurdle, Dick.
-We got it.

-[CHUCKLES]
-Of course, we fucking got it!

We're the survivors,
aren't we?

Who wouldn't want
Lehman Brothers!

At this price, for Barclays,

it's like Christmas
fucking day!

-Samantha!
-I'm here.

Get me some new clothes. Zach!

I wouldn't go out.

-There's press down there.
-Still?

They're propagating.

Zach!

Go and get rid of the press.

Parasites. Tell them nothing!

Give them nothing, watch them
make something out of it.

We'll have a laugh
about it later. Go!

Maybe you should
turn on the news.

-Just for...
-Why should I watch the news?

We know what's happening.
They don't know what's
happening. Clothes!

-We could accept $35.
-$35?

I know you've had
difficulties, but...

I was prepared to pay at least
a few thousand dollars

for a firm like Merrill Lynch.

$35 a share.

Well, I suppose I could
convince my board
to rise to 25.

I suppose,
with gargantuan effort,

I might convince my board
to drop to 32.

Why don't we just cut the crap
and state the numbers
we'll accept?

29.

-27.
-29.

28.

29.

I stay where I am.
I like where I am.

My title will be
President of Global Banking,

Securities and Wealth
Management.

I'm sure your title won't be
my board's chief concern.

We'll need an answer
by midnight.

You don't have to worry,
Mr Thain.

We have no intentions
of taking your stripes
away from you.

Your face is part
of the package.

Call in the board
for 12:00 noon.

We'll need to ratify Barclays
and I want food.

Catering, goodies, ribs, meat,

champagne, a spread.

You brought us back
from the brink.

This place is my life.

Did you think I was
going to let it go down?

Where else would I go?

What else could I do?

Mmm-hmm. Mmm-hmm.

It's hard not to agree
with you on that score.

Well, then I think we've
covered just about
everything, don't you?

Oh. Don't worry.

I think we both have
our hands tied on this one.

[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]

[DOOR OPENS]

[SIGHS]

Well, gentlemen,
I'm afraid Barclays is dead.

[ALL MURMURING]

By British law, Barclays can't
guarantee Lehman's obligations
without a shareholder vote.

-So why can't they vote?
-HANK: They can.

But not until Tuesday.

Can't the British government
make an exception
for just a couple of days?

They're under no obligation
to do that.

I thought I could get
Darling to issue a waiver,
but I couldn't.

But...

Why can't the Fed just
backstop us till the vote,

I mean,
if it's only two days away?

There is no public money
for a backstop.

Have I said that before?

We're at the end.

The deal is dead.
Now, you need to talk
to your board.

[SIGHS]

[INAUDIBLE]

Harvey, they want you
down the Fed.

They want us to file now.

You're asking me to draw up
the biggest bankruptcy
in history

and you want it done
by midnight?

I heard you were
good at what you do.

[SCOFFS] A reckless bankruptcy
is going to be Armageddon.

We have a programme.

We have a series
of press releases

which we firmly believe
will calm the markets.

Press releases?

Lehman has assets
worth $639 billion.

That's higher than the GDP

of almost every country
in the world!

I know all the arguments
against this!

I've been on the phone
with Dick for six months

trying to get him to sell,

but the price was never
high enough for him!

He thought he had all the time
in the world. Well, he didn't.

He thought he was playing
with the casino's money.

Well, he wasn't.

That's enough now! We've got
to clean up this mess.

Somebody had to fail.

Lehman Brothers has failed.

[SIGHS]

[EXHALES]

[PHONE RINGING]

Mr Lewis's phone.

Donna, it's Dick Fuld.

Is, um, Ken by any chance...

No, he isn't.

Look, I don't think
there's any point
repeatedly calling the house.

Mr Lewis has your messages.

I'm sure if he wants
to call you, he will.

[PHONE RINGING]

[SIGHS]

[RINGING CONTINUES]

[CAMERAS CLICKING]

REPORTER: Can you please
tell us what's happening?

ZACH: I read somewhere
that writing

was originally invented
to keep track of debt.

If that's how history began,
then maybe when we wrote off

this giant mountain of debt,
history came to an end.

It was definitely
the end of history for some.

National economies collapsed.

Ireland and Italy
nearly went bankrupt.

Iceland did.

It was a good thing
George Bush legalised
sleep deprivation

because our
Chief Financial Officer,

who hadn't slept
in three days,

had to stay awake to approve
the bankruptcy petition.

And it had to be done
before midnight.

Some of us expected
big changes, a new age.

Some of us are still waiting.

There was a well-known
con artist who said,

"The reason some people
can be conned

"is because they want
something for nothing.

"Well, I give them nothing
for something."

There was something else
he said.

"People are 99% animal,
1% human.

"And it's the human part
that causes all the trouble."

[SCOFFS] You'd think it would
be the other way around.

[SIGHS]