The Federal Reserve Bank of New York held an emergency meeting on Friday night with top Wall Street executives to discuss the future of venerable firm Lehman Brothers and the parlous state of US financial markets.

The meeting, which began at 18:00 New York time, was called by the New York Fed in an attempt to find a solution to the problems plaguing Lehman. The group, which consisted of the heads of most major financial institutions, is expected to meet throughout the weekend to see if it can agree on some way to rescue the ailing firm, according to a person familiar with the matter.