The futures industry's main trade group on Thursday protested efforts this week to reveal the identities of firms that bid for portions of Lehman Bros. Holdings' futures portfolio.

Disclosing the identity of the bidders could leave traders reluctant to participate in future emergency auctions, making it tougher for exchanges to wind down the positions of failed firms, according to a letter from the Futures Industry Association to Judge James Peck of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

The FIA weighed in as Anton Valukas, the court-appointed examiner of the Lehman collapse, has locked horns with futures exchange operator CME Group Inc. (CME) over the issue.

Lawyers for Valukas this week urged court officials to order the disclosure of bidders for Lehman's futures book, arguing that the public deserves to know who was invited to participate in a private auction in the days following Lehman's bankruptcy filing in September 2008.

CME has sought to guard the participants' confidentiality, warning that they could be disadvantaged in the market if their identities are revealed.

-By Jacob Bunge, Dow Jones Newswires; (312) 750 4117; jacob.bunge@dowjones.com
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