Top Firm Posts First Loss In 25 Years

The Financial Times reports that fund manager Legg Mason has posted its first loss in 25 years. The firm's fiscal fourth-quarter came out $255m in the red, following a $291m charge relating to losses in money market funds.

Firm CEO Mark Fetting said that the quarter ended 31st March 'was among the most difficult we have ever faced and we are disappointed with our results. We remain (however) a fundamentally strong firm today, but we know we have work to do'. Legg has set aside some $2bn in the last 6 months to cover potential money market losses, and plans to raise $1bn by way of a preferred share offering.

Bloomberg reports that Commerzbank has posted a 54% fall in first-quarter earnings. Net income came in at $434m, after a further $379m of US subprime lending-related writedowns. Credit crunch-related losses now total some $1.3bn.

The New York Times reports that Lazard has posted a 71% fall in first-quarter profit, which came in at $16m after $28.5m in writedowns in its holdings of corporate debt and losses in its corporate equity portfolio. The firm's vice chairman, Steven Golub, said, however, that: 'We don't think our first-quarter results are representative of what we'll see for the rest of the year'.

Finally, Bloomberg reports that Merrill Lynch has confirmed that its Level 3 (hard-to-value) assets had risen 70% in the first quarter to $82.4bn. The news agency also reports that Wachovia came out Tuesday and said that its first-quarter loss was, in fact, $708m - 80% higher than originally reported last month - after discovering that it needed to take writedowns on life assurance policies for employees. Bloomberg quotes Hill-Townend Capital founder Gary Townsend, who said that this 'paints a picture that they aren't totally in control of their destinies, or their financials'.