What event on September 15, 2008, intensified the global stock-market crash?

Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy on September 15, 2008, intensified the global stock-market crash.

Lehman Brothers, a major U.S. investment bank, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after it could not find a buyer or secure sufficient government support. Its filing was the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history at that time, measured by listed assets.

Lehman held substantial exposure to mortgage-related securities and real-estate markets. Its collapse increased fear about the condition of banks and the reliability of financial counterparties. Credit markets tightened, and stock markets around the world fell sharply as investors reassessed financial-sector risk.

The bankruptcy was one part of the broader 2007–2008 financial crisis. Bear Stearns had already been rescued through a sale to JPMorgan Chase in March 2008, while the U.S. government later supported other institutions and created emergency programs. Lehman’s failure is often treated as a defining turning point, but the crisis had developed over years of housing-market excess and leveraged lending.