Which company’s bankruptcy became the pivotal event of the 2008 global financial crisis?

Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy became the pivotal corporate event of the 2008 global financial crisis.

The investment bank filed for bankruptcy on September 15, 2008, after suffering enormous losses tied to mortgage-related securities and real-estate investments. With assets of about $639 billion, it was the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history at that time. The failure shocked investors because authorities had allowed the firm to collapse after an emergency sale could not be arranged.

Lehman’s failure intensified the crisis in credit markets. Banks became more reluctant to lend to one another, money-market funds came under pressure, and stock markets around the world fell sharply. The panic helped push governments into extraordinary rescue and stabilization measures.

Bear Stearns had already been rescued through a JPMorgan Chase acquisition in March 2008, so it is often confused with Lehman. Merrill Lynch was bought by Bank of America, while Washington Mutual failed later that month in the largest U.S. bank failure then recorded.