Which bankruptcy became the symbolic trigger of the 2008 global stock-market crash?

Lehman Brothers became the symbolic trigger of the 2008 global stock-market crash when it filed for bankruptcy on September 15, 2008. The filing was the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history at that time and intensified an already severe financial crisis.

Lehman had built a large business in mortgage-related securities and other complex financial products. As U.S. housing prices fell and mortgage defaults rose, the value of those assets came under pressure. Investors and counterparties increasingly questioned whether the firm could meet its obligations.

The U.S. government and other institutions had helped arrange the sale of Bear Stearns earlier in 2008, but no buyer or rescue package was found for Lehman. Its failure caused sharp declines in stock markets worldwide and contributed to a freezing of credit markets. Merrill Lynch was acquired by Bank of America, while AIG received emergency assistance shortly afterward.

Lehman’s bankruptcy did not begin every problem in the crisis, but it is widely treated as the event that transformed mounting financial stress into a global panic.