What crisis began in 2007 and became a worldwide stock-market crash after the collapse of Lehman Brothers?

The crisis that began in 2007 and became a worldwide stock-market crash after Lehman Brothers collapsed was the global financial crisis.

Its roots included a housing bubble in the United States, risky mortgage lending, complex mortgage-backed securities, and heavy leverage across financial institutions. When U.S. house prices fell and borrowers began defaulting, losses spread through banks and global credit markets.

Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy on 15 September 2008, a pivotal moment in the panic. Stock markets then fell sharply, credit became difficult to obtain, and governments and central banks introduced emergency measures. The crisis produced a severe global recession and major reforms to financial regulation.

The crisis is sometimes called the 2008 financial crisis, although important stress appeared during 2007 and the turmoil continued beyond 2008. It was broader than the subprime mortgage crisis, which describes one central source of the financial losses.