Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy on September 15, 2008, during the global financial crisis and stock-market crash.
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. was a major U.S. investment bank with extensive exposure to mortgages and mortgage-related securities. As U.S. housing prices fell and defaults increased, the value of those assets became difficult to assess. Investors and counterparties lost confidence, while Lehman struggled to raise capital or find a buyer.
Its Chapter 11 filing was the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history at the time. The failure intensified fear in credit markets and contributed to sharp stock-market declines around the world. It also followed the earlier rescue of Bear Stearns and preceded the forced sale of Merrill Lynch to Bank of America.
Lehman did not cause the entire crisis by itself. Excessive mortgage lending, leverage, complex securities, weak risk controls, and fragile funding markets all played roles. The bankruptcy became the crisis’s most recognizable symbol because of its immediate and global repercussions.