Lehman Brothers’ September 2008 bankruptcy became a symbol of the global financial crash.
Lehman Brothers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on September 15, 2008. With about $639 billion in assets, it was the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history at the time. The failure intensified fear about banks’ exposure to mortgage-related securities and short-term funding markets.
The wider crisis grew from the U.S. housing boom, risky mortgage lending, complex securitization, excessive leverage, and falling house prices. Lehman’s collapse did not create every underlying problem, but it made the fragility of the global financial system unmistakable.
Other institutions experienced different outcomes. Bear Stearns was rescued through a JPMorgan Chase acquisition in March 2008, while Merrill Lynch was acquired by Bank of America. Governments and central banks then introduced emergency lending, capital support, and stimulus measures. “Lehman caused the crash” is too simple; its bankruptcy was a dramatic turning point within a broader crisis.