Anniversary of a near-death

One year from the day the financial system stared into the abyss, how the world has changed

IN THE days following that fateful collapse of Lehman Brothers almost exactly a year ago, Mohamed El-Erian, CEO of Pacific Investment Management Co, the world's largest bond-fund manager, feared the worst. 'I remember at the end of the week calling up my wife and saying, 'Jamie, go to the ATM, go to the cash machine, and take cash out',' he told Bloomberg. 'She said, 'Why?' I said, 'I don't know whether the banks are going to open tomorrow'.'

On the other side, Piyush Gupta, Citi's CEO for Southeast Asia, remembers doing everything to prevent a run on the bank. He told BT: 'We were really concerned because we saw a lot of people coming in, wondering if they can cash out. Now, the first rule in banking is never to let a bank run happen. Once a bank run happens, you're just dead.'