Lyondell banks lose $3.7 billion in loans

The five banks that helped finance the takeover of Lyondell Chemical Co have lost at least $3.7 billion, and that figure may climb to more than $8 billion, which would make the leveraged buyout the costliest in history for lenders.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Citigroup Inc, UBS AG, Merrill Lynch & Co and ABN Amro Holding NV agreed to underwrite the $20.9 billion takeover of Houston-based Lyondell by Basell AF, a Rotterdam company controlled by Ukraine-born billionaire Len Blavatnik, in the second half of 2007.

LyondellBasell Industries, the world's biggest maker of polyolefins used in products ranging from bottle caps to auto parts, filed for bankruptcy last month as demand evaporated in the global recession.