What was the 2008 global stock-market crash’s major U.S. banking failure that accelerated the crisis?

The major U.S. banking failure that accelerated the 2008 global stock-market crash was the Lehman Brothers collapse.

Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy on September 15, 2008, after suffering heavy losses connected to the U.S. housing and mortgage markets. It was the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history at that time, measured by assets, and it immediately intensified fears about the stability of financial institutions.

The failure disrupted credit markets because banks and investors were uncertain about their exposure to Lehman and to other troubled firms. Stock markets around the world fell sharply as confidence weakened. Governments and central banks then introduced emergency lending, guarantees, capital injections, and other measures.

Bear Stearns had already required a rescue in March 2008, but its acquisition by JPMorgan Chase was not the same event as Lehman’s bankruptcy. Lehman’s collapse became a defining turning point in the global financial crisis.