Which 2008 bankruptcy intensified the global stock-market crash and financial crisis?

Lehman Brothers was the 2008 bankruptcy that intensified the global stock-market crash and financial crisis.

The investment bank filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on September 15, 2008, after failing to find a buyer or secure sufficient government support. It was the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history at that time, with more than $600 billion in assets listed.

Lehman’s collapse damaged confidence in banks and credit markets worldwide. Investors feared that other financial institutions were also exposed to complex mortgage-related securities and could fail. Stock markets fell sharply, while interbank lending became much more difficult.

A common mix-up is confusing Lehman Brothers with Bear Stearns, which was rescued through a sale to JPMorgan Chase in March 2008. Lehman was not rescued, and its failure became a defining moment of the 2007–2009 global financial crisis. The crisis also led to major government interventions, including bank bailouts and emergency central-bank lending.