A few banks are looking at books that went out Thursday, the source said, declining to identify any potential acquirers.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Bank of America was in talks to buy Lehman but that any deal was "far from certain."

The investment bank's survival was called into question as its chief executive scrambled to sell assets to cover losses from toxic real estate investments, sending shares down as much as 46 percent.

(Editing by Phil Berlowitz)