On This Day

On this day in 2008, Wall Street brokerage firm Lehman Brothers seeks Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, becoming the largest victim of the subprime mortgage crisis that would devastate financial markets and contribute to the biggest economic downturn since the Great Depression. At the time of its collapse, Lehman Brothers was the country’s fourth-largest investment bank, with over 25,000 employees worldwide. The firm became the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history.

Lehman's demise also made it the largest victim of the U.S. subprime mortgage-induced financial crisis that swept through global financial markets in 2008.