Mr David Rubenstein's interview with the Financial Times on Friday came a day after shares in Carlyle Capital closed with massive losses after it said negotiations with creditors to prevent its liquidation had been unsuccessful, and it defaulted on nearly US$17 billion (S$23 billion) of debt.

'We have stood behind our products in the past and we are working on ways to address the losses that are being suffered by investors,' Mr Rubenstein told the business daily.

He added Carlyle Capital was examining various legal issues to do with compensating shareholders, as the fund was a separate legal entity to the Carlyle Group.

Shares in Carlyle Capital closed on Thursday down 87.5 per cent at 0.35 euros, taking total losses in the past week to 97 per cent.

Carlyle Capital is one of 55 funds managed by US-based Carlyle Group, one of the largest private equity firms in the world with some US$80 billion in assets.

Mr Rubenstein said he did not think that 'one fund out of 60 will spoil a reputation built up over 20 years'. -- AFP