In 2008, the collapse of Lehman Brothers triggered a global financial crisis. A decade later, commentators are debating whether federal officials could have prevented the crisis by supporting Lehman as it did other banks soon afterwards.
I was Lehman’s chief administrative officer on the day it closed its doors forever. Speaking as someone who was on the inside looking out, the answer is clear: Lehman could have and should have been saved. I realise that may sound self-serving. However, let’s consider the facts.
Lehman was refused assistance, it was explained weeks afterwards, because it lacked the collateral to secure a loan from the US Federal Reserve — the Fed was therefore barred from providing assistance. Many of us first heard that explanation from the then-Fed chairman Ben Bernanke at the Economic Club of New York in October 2008.