The Wall Street Journal reports that Joseph Gregory, Lehman Brother's former president, has put in a $233m claim as a creditor against the bankrupt company's estate for performance-related and restricted stock options. Some people have no shame.

The newspaper also reports that Dan Sontag, the former head of Merrill Lynch's brokerage unit, only learnt about the appointment of Sallie Krawcheck (who was coming in over his head) just a few minutes before Bank of America publicly announced it.

Sontag is said to have received a brief telephone call from BofA President Brian Moynihan, which is said to have left him 'stunned and almost speechless'. Sontag soon resigned, after almost 30 years with the firm. The newspaper quotes one unnamed source, who said: 'These people and what they did, it's just unprofessional'.

The Journal also reports that Bob McCann, another former Merrill veteran, is said to be in talks with Bank of America to drop his legal action against the bank which, he claims, is not entitled to prevent him from going to work for a rival firm (McCann is rumored to be in the frame for an executive position at UBS). The banker claims that his job as head of Global Wealth Management was effectively downgraded after the Bank of America / Merrill Lynch merger, and that any 'non'compete' clause in his contract is therefore null and void.

In the meantime, The Financial Times reports that Lord Turner, chairman of UK securities regulator The Financial Services Authority, has come up with the bright idea of a special tax on banks to ensure that they don't have the money to pay excessive bonuses. Turner says that, although this might be a last choice option, an option it nevertheless is. Bank shareholders will doubtless be pleased, although Turner probably couldn't care less, as he has described some of the banking industry as a 'socially useless activity'. One banker told Here Is The City: 'The sooner the Tories get back in power and abolish the socially useless FSA, the better'.

And Reuters reports that London-based hedge funds are on the hire again (although how long for - given the unfriendly economic, fiscal and regulatory environment - remains to be seen).

Finally, Bloomberg reports that French bank Credit Agricole has reported a more-than doubled its second-quarter profit to $286m, although investment banking unit Calyon was still unable to deliver positive earnings, posting a loss of $124m in the period.

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