In the American history there were a lot of financial crises and failures of large financial corporations that had an impact on the economy of this country. One of the most recent and significant among them is considered bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers - a bank that was previously considered one of the world leaders in the investment business and ranked fourth in this area in the United States. More details about his success and bankruptcy will be discussed later.
In 1844, Heinrich Lehman emigrated from Germanyin USA. Here, in a small town in Alabama, he opened a store in which he sold products. His clients were mainly local cotton merchants. Things were going very well, so in the near future the young entrepreneur accumulated enough funds to help his two younger brothers move to him. They helped him in business, and their enterprise was already called Lehman Brothers. Often it was beneficial for customers to pay withthem finished products. At the same time, while receiving cotton, the brothers lowered its value, and later sold it at market prices, earning the same product twice. In 1855, Heinrich Lehman died, after which his brother Emanuel began to lead the company, who three years later opened a branch in New York. During the civil war, the company actively assisted the southern states. After graduation, established business connections helped the brothers organize the issuance of Alabama state bonds.
В 1870 году была создана Нью-Йоркская хлопковая exchange. Lehman Brothers took direct part in its establishment. The history of an investment bank earning fabulous profits began around this time. The company’s interests at that time included not only cotton, but also other profitable products, such as oil and coffee. The company also invested in securities of companies that were just starting out. It should be noted that many of them exist in our days.
В 1906 году предприятие возглавил Филипп Леман, in which more than one issue was organized for the largest corporations that traded in consumer goods. His son Robert in 1925 became the last representative of the dynasty at the head of the institution. The education he received at Yale University, along with the right priorities, helped him not only to save Lehman Brothers from the crisis during the Depression, but also to make it one of the largest financial institutions in the country. As of the beginning of the twenties of the last century, the bank invested in the aviation industry, radio, film industry and retail chains. Under the direction of Robert Lehmann, the company reached the highest level of its development and became one of the most influential in the United States.
In 1969, Robert Lehman died. From this point on, the struggle for power broke out. Lehman Brothers. In 1975, the bank became the fourth investmentfinancial institution in the country. Despite this, in the early eighties of the twentieth century, many bankers quit. The fact is that they could not do anything with exchange players who increased their premiums unilaterally. In 1984, the situation inside the bank took advantage of American Express, which made Lehman Brothers Bank part of one of its subsidiaries.Ten years later, the company changed its policy and launched the process of public sale of shares. Thus, the bank became independent again, and its capitalization grew up to bankruptcy.
В начале 2007 года начали ходить слухи о institution problems. His brokers began to issue arbitrary OTC contracts, offering to redeem interest on future mortgage bonds to anyone. It was a very risky game. She fully paid off when the mortgage market was on the rise. However, as soon as the situation changed, contract owners began to present Lehman brothers your requirements.The bank had neither the funds nor the securities to fulfill its obligations. As a result, in the first half of 2008, the company announced its losses amounting to 2.8 billion dollars. Moreover, creditors filed claims for compensation, the total amount of which amounted to 830 billion dollars. Proposals to resolve the situation by nationalization did not find support in the government. Thus, the officials showed that the state does not intend to pay for the mistakes of top managers.
September 15, 2008, the management of the bank sentto the court a statement of recognition of its bankruptcy. Liquid assets of a financial institution in the United States, Europe and the East were acquired by Barclays and Nomura Holdings.
