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U.S. Bankruptcy Judge James Peck brought a ruling that Bank of America Corp should return $500 million of deposits it seized from Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc shortly after Lehman's bankruptcy. The judge said that Bank of America violated federal law when it "brazenly" seized the deposits after having taken advantage of Lehman's weakened condition in the summer of 2008 in obtaining the money.

Lehman Brothers International reported Tuesday that almost all the clients whose assets have been frozen since the investment bank's contraction support the intension to return the money early next year.

In November PricewaterhouseCoopers PWC.UL sketched out a plan to return about $11 billion held in custody by March 2010. This scheme required 90% of Lehman's clients to approve the plan by December 29.

 The administrator for Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc plans to seek permission to remove the claims against the bank from British courts and give out assets directly to creditors, the Wall Street Journal said, citing a joint administrator for the collapsed investment bank.