Three Years Ago, Lehman's Fall Unleashed Crisis That Shook the World

The bankruptcy of American investment bank Lehman Brothers three years ago shook the world’s stock markets. It brought the biggest depression since the end of World War II; people all over the world are still suffering the consequences.

But the thing few people know is that even today, Lehman Brothers still exists. The bank lives like a “zombie” in the financial world, although it’s already close to its end.

An army of lawyers and bankers are busy dividing whatever is left of what was the fourth most important investment bank in the world. They are liquidating their business, collecting their pending credits and trying to pay off debts to their creditors, who have been waiting for compensation ever since the spectacular bankruptcy.

On September 15, 2008, Lehman fell. The bank suffered a hit by a series of failed speculations, leading to a crisis of the financial community, which are mutually related. But while the government dealt with trying to avoid other insolvencies on behalf of the taxpayers, the tug of war began for the remains of the Lehman Brothers.

According to the current state of negotiations, the creditors of parent company Lehman Brothers Holdings will receive about 20 cents for every dollar lost. They have until November 4 to decide whether to accept the offer. Major investment funds have already suggested that they will accept. Afterward, a judge will have to approve the bankruptcy plan, the product of careful negotiations. Then the money will be divided and Lehman will disappear.

The bank hasn’t been liquidated until now because of its complex structure, with many subsidiaries and non-transparent cash flow. Many disputes ended up in court. Lehman’s CEO Bryan Marsal expects that the money finally distributed will be about $65 million. The money comes from sources like the sale of real estate in which Lehman had invested, or from speculation operations.

The best of the bank was taken by the British bank Barclays soon after the fall, which now occupies former Lehman headquarters in New York’s Times Square. The iconic building still reminds many New Yorkers of the bankruptcy, and the change in their city and the world.