It's yielding 4.8% and has a fortresslike tangible equity ratio (capital minus intangible assets) of 13.9%.
At the same time, he's still hammering away on U.S. targets like JPMorgan Chase, whose non-performing assets exceed tangible equity, according to his own calculations.
In the meantime the total number of banks in the US continues to decline while the ratio of tangible equity to tangible assets stands higher than any time in the 1984-2010 period.
The company also said returns on tangible common equity during the quarter were disappointing.
Wells Fargo, for instance, has more money in second liens than it has tangible common equity, or the most solid form of capital.
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Lehman's exposure to mortgage- and asset-backed securities and collateralized debt obligations is 400% of its tangible common equity, according to research by Sanford Bernstein.
Those goals are expected to be similar to ones outlined in a new executive compensation plan that grades performance based on return on assets and tangible common equity, the people said.
"With its high leverage ratio to tangible common equity, we believe Lehman needs to raise substantial capital regardless of market conditions in order to take its needed write-downs, " Einhorn said in an email Tuesday.
In another measure, the ratio of price to tangible book value (shareholders' equity minus intangibles like goodwill), Citi is close to typical at 3.6.
They remain too bearish regarding the return on equity for the big players as regulators elongate dates for compliance on net tangible assets per share, liquidity percentages and other restrictive yardsticks.
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