Ten years on: How Lehman changed the world

Ten years ago a financial crisis was unfolding on the trading floors of the Lehman Brothers as shares headed downwards. Rumours of the crash were told again and again but no-one believed it would actually happen.

The collapse of the investment bank began a series of job losses, the implications of this went far beyond The City. It caused the world to wake up – seriously wake up – to what was going on in the financial markets as what was the largest and perhaps most complex administration in history unfolded.

In this short film, some of those most closely involved reflect on what it was like at the time and the broader impact.

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Ten years on: How Lehman changed the world

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More than 2,000 PwC partners and staff from 17 business areas have worked on the project since 2008 and in that time creditors have been paid in full and returned more than £40bn of cash and assets to former employees, creditors and trade suppliers.

One of the big legacies of Lehman is the impact that it’s had on regulators, central banks and governments around the world.  There is new legislation; there are new powers of intervention that build off the lessons that have been learned from Lehman. We are trying to ensure that there is trust throughout society such that something like this cannot and does not happen again.

"This was a pivotal point in time and it was a pivotal assignment for the firm. Everybody wanted to know what was happening at Lehman and what would happen next."

Tony Lomas, Former Chairman Business Recovery Services, PwC

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