1, external reasons
(1), caused by the subprime mortgage crisis.
Lehman Brothers, which dominated the American mortgage bond business for 40 years in a row, failed to stand firm under the impact of the subprime mortgage crisis. The problem is that the company's huge "toxic assets" related to housing mortgage loans suffered heavy losses in the subprime mortgage crisis. Because Lehman holds a large number of subprime financial products (including MBS: real estate mortgage-backed securities; CDO: debt-backed bonds), and other lower-grade mortgage financial products. Therefore, after the subprime mortgage crisis broke out, the default rate of subprime mortgage loans rose, leading to a sharp decline in the credit rating and market value of subprime financial products. With the credit risk extending from sub-prime mortgage to other housing mortgage areas, the credit rating and market value of lower-grade housing mortgage financial products have also dropped significantly.
The government stood by.
Although both Barclays and Bank of America showed great interest in the acquisition of Lehman Brothers, the reason why they finally chose to give up was that they did not get a promise from the US government or other Wall Street companies to protect the potential losses of Lehman Brothers' assets.
Facing the plight of Lehman Brothers, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Henry Merritt Paulson said that he would not rescue Lehman Brothers. In other words, the US government has abandoned Lehman. So what caused the US government to be so "heartless" to Lehman? First, the government can't face Congress and taxpayers. Because the US government used taxpayers' money to save the stock market, Bear Stearns and Fannie and Freddie, the US Congress was strongly dissatisfied. At the same time, Lehman is not the last financial institution that needs to be rescued. It is only a matter of time before the American government's own finances are "pulled" into the water. Second, there are many financial institutions caught in the financial crisis, and the government can't save them. Moreover, judging from Lehman Brothers' ranking ninth among the top ten investment banks in the world in 2008, Lehman's position in the highly competitive Wall Street is no longer so important. Therefore, the American financial system no longer needs Lehman Brothers.
2. Internal reasons
Take Neuberger Berman, a subsidiary of Lehman, as an example. Their asset management business is very good, but bond trading is their core business. As a result, Lehman Brothers has more than $50 billion in assets that are difficult to get rid of due to mistakes in decision-making.
Then, it is not good for Lehman to save itself. According to Paulson, after the Bear Stearns incident, the Federal Reserve has opened up a special financing channel for investment banks, allowing them to lend directly to the central bank like commercial banks. However, Lehman Brothers never used this policy. Instead, we have tried to find a way out through the capital market and get out of the predicament. Therefore, this is the best time to save yourself.
The Impact of Lehman Brothers Bankruptcy on China's Economy
Although the income statement of bankruptcy assets issued by Lehman Brothers Bank shows that as a creditor, the big head is not in China, so China Investment Bank will not suffer losses due to the devaluation of huge creditor's rights. So far, China's banking industry has been lucky enough to withstand wave after wave of shocks, mainly due to China's non-convertible currency system. China's foreign exchange management agencies can effectively control the inflow and outflow of funds according to the current market situation. Therefore, it can be said that the narrow escape of China's banking industry was really caused by the heavy and slow pace of China's financial reform, and there was indeed a silver lining behind the dark clouds.
However, in the face of this huge and sudden economic change, the Lehman incident has cast more and more shadows on the recovery of the world economy, and also laid a potential crisis for China's economic development.
References:
/20 1 1- 1 1-0 1/ 134769758 . html