Reuters- U.S. hedge fund managers Ron Beller and Geoffrey Grant whose two funds recently collapsed blamed bankers for some of their troubles.
Lenders, who once helped the pair finance new investments, now wanted the money or assets back, Beller and Grant told investors last month, adding that tighter terms "compounded our difficulties and made it impossible to meet margin calls."
Beller and Grant are not alone in complaining that many of Wall Street’s biggest banks’ prime brokerage units are now retreating and years in which they lead the charge of supplying money and clients to hedge funds.
"Some of the street’s biggest lenders started to pull in their credit lines very quickly. It has been a selective but noticeable process and that is because the banks themselves are in trouble," said one manager at a large New York-based firm, who asked to remain anonymous in order to speak candidly.
