Lehman jobs may be saved

Dan Schwarzman, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, the administrator for the bank in Britain and continental Europe, told The Times his company had "asked a number of parties for final offers. These are coming in today".

It is understood that Barclays and Japanese bank Nomura are likely to buy major parts of the failed business.

Mr Schwarzman said a commitment to saving Lehman jobs would be central to which bank is successful in its bid for the European business.

PricewaterhouseCoopers also plans to query the transfer of $8billion from Lehman in London to the US.