Herstatt – The Risk Diary

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AIG – The Insurance Giant That Needed a Bailout

2008: When Lehman fell, the world turned its eyes to AIG — an insurer that had quietly written billions in guarantees on toxic mortgage securities. Collateral calls crushed it, and only a government rescue kept the global system from collapse.

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Lehman Brothers – The Bankrupt Giant of Wall Street

2008. Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, triggering the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Behind the headlines was a toxic mix of leverage, subprime mortgages, and misplaced confidence. This is how a Wall Street giant fell.

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LTCM – The Hedge Fund That Almost Broke the System

1998 – A hedge fund run by Nobel laureates promised to tame risk with math. For four years, it worked—until Russia defaulted and the models crumbled. Long-Term Capital Management nearly pulled the entire financial system into the abyss.

Herstatt — The Bank That Died at Noon

A LSeptember 13, 2025September 15, 202506 mins

Cologne 1974: one overnight timing gap between currencies, and a bank simply disappeared. Welcome to the story behind *settlement risk*— how it earned its name, and why I still feel its chill today.

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Herstatt — The Bank That Died at Noon