When Prime Brokers Fail: The Unheeded Risk to Hedge Funds, Banks, and the Financial Industry

When Lehman Brothers collapsed in the fall of 2008, hedge funds using Lehman as a prime broker found themselves unable to withdraw assets and many were forced to close. The dangers inherent in prime finance—the business relationship between prime brokers and their clients, namely hedge funds—increase the likelihood of widespread financial collapse. When Prime Brokers Fail is a detailed look at the relationship between hedge funds and their brokerages and the risks multiplied in extraordinary markets. This relationship has been the source of unexpected risk for banks lending to highly leveraged funds, as well as funds with assets at struggling banks.