Lehman's Got a Reluctant Safety Net in Uncle Sam

A report from Hintz also supported shares early in the day, as the analyst predicted the company not be "forced into a 'shotgun marriage' like Bear Stearns."

However, the trading tides turned once the Wall Street Journal reported that Lehman had met with officials from the Fed and Securities and Exchange Commission to discuss options to build up its share price. Lehman is now considering a strategic partnership, buyback plan or asset sale to boost its shares, the Journal said, citing sources familiar with the situation.

Regardless of what steps Lehman ultimately takes to right itself, Hintz says the government will not allow Lehman or its peers to go under, because of the sheer complexity of assets and the effect it would have in the greater capital markets. As with Bear Stearns, Lehman's trades are intertwined with a number of other banks, and federal regulators stepped in not just for Bear but to support the broader financial system

Joseph Lynyak, a partner in the bank regulatory practice at law firm Venable LLP, says Bernanke and Paulson are talking tough to avoid giving the impression that the feds will step in to heal the wounds of every community bank that lent millions to subprime homebuyers.

Instead, they are trying "to strike the right balance in their remarks to the public," says Lynyak, a onetime honors fellow at the FDIC. "They're concerned about conveying a false impression to the marketplace that they would bail out every institution in every situation."