Lehman Indexes Folded Under Barclays' Banner

With the acquisition of Lehman Brothers and its indexing unit, Barclays (BCS) Capital said on Monday it's folding those benchmarks under a new brand name: Barclays Capital Indices.

The new index family will unite the combined Lehman platform with existing benchmarks run by Barclays Capital to provide a common reference point for the industry, says Larry Kantor, head of research for the firm.

"We have combined two great franchises to create a leader in the index business that covers the whole spectrum from benchmark to strategy indices," he said in announcing the changes. "We are very excited by the enormous opportunities afforded by this expanded index platform, across the full range of products and our locations around the world."

Under the unified brand, Barclays Capital will continue to calculate and publish the existing Barclays Capital benchmarks as well as the former Lehman indexes.

In addition, Barclays Capital will maintain the associated index calculation, publication and analytical infrastructure and tools that were part of the ex-Lehman Brothers platform.

During the process of combining the two index families, Barclays Capital said in a statement that "index production and publication for the former Lehman indices has been addressed as the highest priority, resulting in minimal interruption of service."

Barclays Capital will work closely with its clients and partners to appropriately address the process of re-branding index-linked products and benchmarks, the company added.