Let (g, [·, ·]) be a Lie algebra with an integrable complex structure J. The ±i eigenspaces of J are complex subalgebras of g C isomorphic to the algebraWe consider here the case where these subalgebras are nilpotent and prove that the original (g, [·, ·]) Lie algebra must be solvable. We consider also the 6-dimensional case and determine explicitly the possible nilpotent Lie algebras (g, [ * ] J ). Finally we produce several examples illustrating different situations, in particular we show that for each given s there exists g with complex structure J such that (g, [ * ] J ) is s-step nilpotent. Similar examples of hypercomplex structures are also built.