Lehman Brothers realigned its efforts to help distressed corporate clients restructure their finances, by tying together formerly separate teams within the investment banking and fixed income areas.

Lehman's new restructuring and finance group is led by Mark J. Shapiro, a managing director who formerly led the bank's restructuring team, according to the New York Times DealBook blog. Others who will be linked to the group include Jim Seery, the head of fixed income loans, and Gilbert W. Sanborn, who will work as chairman of the group’s advisory services, DealBook said.

Restructuring and other services associated with corporate financial distress, such as distressed-debt investing and trading, have emerged as growth businesses since the credit crunch set in last summer.

Lehman's new group is intended to unite the advising and lending sides of the bank's existing restructuring practices. Until now, restructuring and leveraged finance has fallen within the domain of investment banking, while loan and distressed financing teams operated within the fixed income division.

"Among the clients that Lehman has given financing to are Dana, the auto parts maker that recently re-emerged from bankruptcy protection, and Delta Air Lines," DealBook notes.