Lehman Bros Code of Ethics, The History of Lehman Brothers

The History of Lehman Brothers
Lehman Brothers trace their roots back to a general store founded by German immigrant Henry Lehman in Alabama in 1844. Just six years later, Henry Lehman and his brothers founded Lehman Brothers. The firm prospered over the following decades as the U.S. economy grew into an international powerhouse and faced plenty of challenges over the years, including: railroad bankruptcies, the Great Depression, two world wars, a capital shortage caused by a spin off by American Express Co. (AXP), and the Long Term Capital Management collapse and Russian debt default in the late 1990s.
The Disastrous Misstep
In the early part of the 21st century Lehman acquired five mortgage lenders, including subprime lender BNC Mortgage and Aurora Loan Services, which specialized in Alt-A loans (made to borrowers without full documentation). At first Lehman's real estate businesses enabled revenues in the capital markets unit to surge at a faster rate of growth than other businesses in investment banking or asset management.