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Lehman Brothers, a New York-based investment bank, filed for the largest bankruptcy in US history on September 15, 2008. Holding $691 billion in assets, its collapse became a defining moment of the Great Recession. The firm was heavily invested in subprime mortgage-backed securities tied to high-risk home loans. When the US housing market crashed, these risky investments plummeted in value. Lehman's failure triggered a global domino effect, highlighting the dangers of excessive risk-taking and insufficient regulatory oversight within financial markets.