Lehman Brothers yesterday pinned its hopes of surviving the financial crisis on selling most of its prized asset management unit and spinning-off $30bn (£17bn) worth of troubled property assets after failing to secure capital from outside investors.

The beleaguered Wall Street bank sought to end months of speculation over its future and halt a share-price collapse by rushing out third-quarter results, which showed a $3.9bn loss, and outlining plans to shrink its business to a smaller, less risky, core.