Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy on September 15, 2008, during the global financial crisis.
The firm was the fourth-largest investment bank in the United States and had built substantial exposure to mortgage-related securities and real estate. When housing prices fell and credit markets tightened, Lehman could not raise enough capital or find a buyer.
Its failure was the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history at the time. The event intensified panic in stock markets and froze important parts of the global credit system. Merrill Lynch was acquired by Bank of America, while the U.S. government rescued insurer AIG shortly afterward.
Lehman’s collapse is often treated as a pivotal moment rather than the sole beginning of the crisis. Problems in subprime mortgages, excessive leverage, weak risk controls, and interconnected financial institutions had already been building for years.