The argument regarding the Lehman Brothers saga is mainly is whether there is mis-selling ie, old retirees sold lehman linked structured products as fixed deposits.

On a more academic view, the lehman structured products did what it was supposed to do, that is to spread the risks. However, the issue is whether the appropriate people held the risks.

Of cos, there are victims who were ‘greedy’ in the sense that they wanted the higher returns without considering the risks involved. But there are many others who just wanted low risks low return stuff.