Lehman Brothers’ collapse in 2008 followed failed rescue negotiations and preceded the worst phase of the global crash.
Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy on September 15, 2008, after potential buyers and government officials failed to arrange a transaction that would save the firm. Its failure was especially damaging because Lehman was a major participant in global financial markets, with extensive relationships involving banks, investors, insurers, and derivatives counterparties.
The collapse was not the beginning of the entire crisis. Problems had already appeared in U.S. housing finance, and Bear Stearns had been rescued and sold in March 2008. However, Lehman’s bankruptcy became a pivotal moment because it undermined confidence in financial institutions and intensified the freezing of credit markets. Within weeks, governments rescued or supported other major institutions, including American International Group. This question concerns the investment bank’s identity, while the separate fact of its bankruptcy date is often used to mark the crisis’s turning point.