Which company’s bankruptcy became a pivotal event in the 2008 global stock-market crash?

Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy became a pivotal event in the 2008 global stock-market crash. The investment bank filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on September 15, 2008, after suffering huge losses connected to U.S. mortgage-related securities.

Lehman’s failure was the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history at that time. It intensified fears that major financial institutions could fail and that banks might stop lending to one another. Stock markets around the world fell sharply as investors reassessed the safety of financial assets and the stability of the credit system.

The bankruptcy did not begin the entire crisis. Problems had already emerged through the collapse of the U.S. housing bubble, subprime mortgage defaults, and earlier failures or rescues involving firms such as Bear Stearns. The U.S. government’s rescue of AIG followed shortly afterward, while Washington Mutual became the largest U.S. bank failure in history in September 2008.