Speech by Mr Fritz Zurbrügg, Vice Chairman of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank, at the University of Lucerne, Lucerne, 6 September 2018.
Ladies and Gentlemen
Almost exactly ten years ago, on 15 September 2008, Lehman Brothers, the fourth-largest US investment bank at the time, filed for bankruptcy. The ensuing storm engulfed the global financial markets with a ferocity and magnitude that took all market observers by surprise. The collapse of Lehman Brothers made it clear that many financial institutions could not withstand such a buffeting without government support. The financial crisis spilled over rapidly into the real economy, resulting in the deepest global recession since the Great Depression.