Which investment bank’s bankruptcy became a symbol of the 2008 global financial crisis?

Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy became a symbol of the 2008 global financial crisis.

The investment bank filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on September 15, 2008. With reported assets of about $639 billion, it was the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history at that time.

Lehman had built substantial exposure to mortgage-related securities and real estate. As U.S. house prices fell and subprime loan losses grew, confidence in banks and other financial institutions weakened. Lehman’s collapse intensified fears about counterparty risk and the stability of the global financial system.

The bankruptcy did not cause every problem in the crisis, which had deeper roots in housing finance, leverage, securitization, and weak risk controls. It did, however, become a highly visible turning point in the worldwide panic.