The collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008 sent a series of credit shocks and bank crashes that led to the deepest world recession for a generation and a decade of slow growth and painful repair
ADVERTISEMENTIt's been 10 years since the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the onset of the global financial crisis.
It sent a series of credit shocks and bank crashes that led to the deepest world recession for a generation and a decade of slow growth and painful repair.
The night before the bankruptcy filing, Lehman employees were already packing their belongings and abandoning their desks.
One month later Former Lehman Brothers CEO Richard Fuld testified before a House panel investigating the financial crisis.
The Ex-Chairman of Lehman Brothers, Richard Fuld says, "But I wake up every single night thinking what could I have done differently?"
The consequences were disastrous - a global systemic risk that almost brought down the entire financial system.
The US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson says, "We saw market turmoil reach a new level last week, and spill over into the rest of the economy."
Not only into the rest of the US economy, but also across the Atlantic.
Alistair Darling was the Finance Minister of the United Kingdom at the time of Lehman's collapse and oversaw the subsequent bailout of the Royal Bank of Scotland.
Former UK Finance Minister Alistair Darling says, “I was asked by my private secretary to take a call from the then chairman of RBS, and it didn't surprise me that he wanted to speak to me, but he said look, 'we're hemorrhaging money'. I said 'look you know we've got a plan and we're almost ready to go, how long can you last?' There was a silence and he said, 'we're going to run out of money in the afternoon'. It's about two three hours time. It's one of the few calls I've had where it sent a shiver down my spine”.
Later, the US Congress passed the Dodd-Frank law which called for hundreds of new rules, including new oversight of the massive swaps market, mortgages and consumer financial products, and large nonbank financial firms.
The markets have stabilized since their free-fall in 2008, but where might the next crisis come from??
The IMF Managing Director, Christine Lagarde says, "Because we don't know where the next crisis will come from. We have to continue to be very very attentive, particularly to the shadow banking system, particularly to the role that Fin Tech will play in the financial system going forward, with stability in mind. Not the view to restrict innovation, not the view to keep the status quo but within mind the imperative of stability."
With the increasing reliance on technology, some say the next financial crisis might be triggered by a cyberattack.
