15 years since US bank Lehman Brothers fall: Looking back to look ahead

15 years ago, a US investment bank collapsed and changed the financial world forever. Or, did it?

Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services, set up in 1987 to fund India’s anticipated infrastructure boom, began to default on its debt repayment in 2018, sending shivers down the spine of financial markets. Fears arose that this could be India’s Lehman moment, now that the erstwhile investment bank has become this century’s Watergate, lending its name to all big financial crises.
 

However, Indian authorities moved swiftly. The government took control of IL&FS, sacked its board, appointed a new one, and started a process of resolution and monetisation that prevented a contagion. Ironically, IL&FS was probably prevented from becoming India’s Lehman because