The Greatest Bank Failures in History

Bank failures have shaped financial history for centuries. Baring Bank collapsed in 1995 after 233 years. Lehman Brothers failed in 2008 with 639 billion in assets.

Washington Mutual was the largest US bank failure ever. SVB collapsed in 2023 during a social media fueled bank run. Each failure reveals different risks: rogue traders, bad loans, interest rate exposure, and panic.

Understanding bank failures is essential for preventing future ones. Deposit insurance and central bank lending were designed to prevent failures, but the risks evolve constantly..