(Lehman may very well have been insolvent, though Richard S. Fuld Jr., the firm's chief, has argued otherwise).
Bank of America paid a 70 percent premium three years ago for a bank that was worth far less and might have been insolvent.
Without that government-financed capital, many more banks would have been insolvent, or would have been hoarding capital, fearing future asset write-downs.
Given a euro break-up, Britain's economy would probably have contracted by at least 10%, and its banking system would have been insolvent.
"Historically, there have been a number of Marriott limited partnerships that have been insolvent," said Raymond R. Ciccone, a forensic accountant for the hotel industry.
There were serious flaws in the economies, especially in the financial systems, so that some banks and companies would have been insolvent even in the best of economic environments.
For the purposes of this section, the debtor is presumed to have been insolvent on and during the 90 days immediately preceding the date of the filing of the petition.
"Football clubs can't borrow money from banks – they're considered a bad risk because of the idiots who run them and the 50-odd clubs which have been insolvent [since 1992]," he says.
Without the bailout – the second in two years – Greece would have been insolvent and would be forced to default on its debt next month when it needs to redeem €14.5bn of loans.
Last summer, an examiner in the Tribune Company's Chapter 11 bankruptcy case suggested the company might have been insolvent even as the deal was consummated, writing that the second step of the leveraged buyout was "marred," and characterized by "dishonesty and lack of candor" of senior management.
