CEO of former Wall Street giant Lehman Brothers on Wednesday said the company's bankruptcy case could be finished within two years.

The liquidation process of Lehman, once the fourth-largest investment bank in the United States, is expected to wrap up within 18-24 months, Bryan Marsal told a judge.

The length of time was far shorter than earlier expectations as some said the case could take up to 10 years.

Lehman filed bankruptcy in September last year, leaving over 700 open loan trades, some half a million outstanding derivatives contracts and more than 70 separate international insolvency proceedings to liquidators.

In a separate development, a US bankruptcy judge extended Lehman's exclusive control over the case.

He also appointed an independent investigator for the case as required by stakeholders.

(Xinhua News Agency January 15, 2009)