Which 2008 event became the symbolic peak of the global financial crisis when the investment bank Lehman Brothers failed?

Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy became the symbolic peak of the 2008 global financial crisis when the investment bank failed on 15 September 2008.

Lehman had accumulated large exposures to mortgages and other real-estate-related assets. As housing prices fell and mortgage losses increased, investors questioned whether the firm could raise enough capital to survive. Negotiations for a rescue failed, and Lehman filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The failure caused severe turmoil in credit markets. Money-market funds, banks, and other institutions became more cautious about lending because they could not easily judge their counterparties’ risks. Stock markets around the world fell as confidence deteriorated.

Lehman’s collapse was not the first crisis event: Bear Stearns had already been rescued through a sale to JPMorgan Chase in March 2008. Nor was it the final event; the U.S. government later supported AIG and Congress approved the Troubled Asset Relief Program.