Item number: X14

Year: AD 2008

Material: Brass and Lucite

Size: 153.0 x 127.4 x 25.8 mm

Weight: 678.35 g

Provenance: Private Collector, USA, 2024

This is a department and employee motto plaque issued by the “Fixed Income Division” (FID) of Lehman Brothers, the global financial giant that declared bankruptcy during the subprime mortgage crisis of AD 2008. The plaque was intended to remind and encourage employees about their work attitude. The Fixed Income Division, abbreviated as “FID,” primarily dealt with the sale of bonds and ETFs, which are financial products that allow investors to know in advance how much income they will receive in each period.

This brass nameplate, decorated with a black border, features the principles of organization on the obverse side. Listed from top to bottom, the five key mottos of the Fixed Income Securities Division are: “A Bias for Action,” “Keeping Close to the Customer,” “Hands-On, Value Driven,” “The Whole is Greater than Any One Part,” and “Productivity Through People.” In the small black square at the lower right corner, the company and department names, along with the logo, are displayed.

The reverse side of the nameplate outlines the personal action guidelines for employees, consisting of ten principles in total. They are listed as follows: “Have Mutually High Expectations,” “Have Respect for the Individual,” “Be Tough,” “Be Excited,” “Be Decisive,” “Be Imaginative,” “Be Patient,” “Be Smart – Be Dumb,” “Be A Cheerleader,” and “Be A Team.” These principles reflect the spirit and values intended to guide individual behaviour and foster a positive work environment.

Lehman Brothers was founded in AD 1850, originating from a small shop jointly owned by the brothers Emanuel and Meyer, which initially dealt with cotton, one of the most important agricultural products in the United States at the time. Over time, it grew into one of the four largest investment banks in the country before its bankruptcy. The triggering event that led to Lehman Brothers’ collapse was the subprime mortgage crisis in AD 2008. The subprime mortgage market emerged in the early 2000s as the U.S. real estate market boomed, with many individuals considered to have poor credit by banks entering the housing market. In response, banks and financial institutions introduced various “subprime mortgages,” which were lending options for those with bad credit, further stimulating the housing market. Meanwhile, these subprime mortgages were repackaged in the financial market as Collateralized Debt Obligations (CDOs), which bundled bonds of different credit ratings into structured financial products. These offered higher investment returns to attract buyers, creating a massive economic bubble.

In AD 2006, as the Federal Reserve continued to raise interest rates and lending standards changed, the real estate market began to cool down. Under these conditions, subprime mortgages faced delays in repayment and defaults, leading to the collapse of related lending financial institutions. The AD 2015 American film “The Big Short” portrays this period in detail.

On March 14, AD 2008, Bear Stearns, one of the leading financial institutions in the United States, declared bankruptcy, becoming the first domino to fall in the financial storm. Following this, Lehman Brothers, which had also heavily invested in collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) during the housing market boom, faced the risk of default and ultimately declared bankruptcy on September 15. The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers triggered a global financial crisis, particularly affecting multinational banks and financial institutions with which it had dealings. This led to the collapse of the U.S. real estate market, soaring unemployment rates, and significant damage to European banks, which were forced to rely on assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Central Bank (ECB).

物件編號: X14

年代: 公元 2008 年

材質: 黃銅和人造樹酯

尺寸: 153.0 x 127.4 x 25.8 mm

重量: 678.35 g

來源: 美國私人收藏 2024

這是在公元2008年的次級房貸危機中，宣告破產的全球金融龍頭「雷曼兄弟」轄下的「固定收益證券部門」頒發的部門暨職員格言牌，以提醒和勉勵員工的工作態度。固定收益證券部門的簡稱為「FID」，主要的業務是銷售債券和ETF等，投資人得以預先知道每一期得收回多少收益的金融商品。

這一面黃銅材質的銘牌以黑框作為裝飾，正面是表列部門的格言，從上而下，依序列出固定收益證券部門的五大格言：「崇尚行動」、「貼近客戶」、「實踐和價值驅動」、「1+1大於2」和「通過人提升生產力」。而在右下角的黑色小方框內，則有公司和部門的名字和商標。

銘牌的背面則是針對員工個人的行動準則，總計有十條準則，依序是：「擁有相互的高度期望」、「尊重個人」、「堅忍」、「活力」、「果斷」、「想像力」、「熱情」、「謙遜」、「激勵者」和「團隊合作」等精神。

雷曼兄弟成立於公元1850年，從伊曼紐爾和邁爾兩位兄弟共同持有的小商鋪發跡，經手當時美國最為重要的農產品棉花，到最後成為破產前夕全美前四大的投資銀行規模。造成雷曼公司破產的引爆點是公元2008年的次級房貸危機，次級房貸是千禧年以後，隨著美國房地產市場的熱絡發展，許多在銀行眼中信用不佳的人也紛紛投入房市，各大銀行和金融機構紛紛推出不同的「次級房貸」，即提供信用不佳者的房貸方案，進一步活絡房地產市場。另一方面，這些次級房貸在金融市場被包裝為「債務擔保證券」(CDOs)，即包裹不同信用等級債券的延伸性金融商品，以較高的投資報酬率吸引投資者購買，形成龐大的泡沫經濟。

公元2006年，隨著聯準會持續升息和放貸標準改變，房地產市場逐漸降溫。如此的前提之下，次級房貸出現延遲還款和債務違約的危機，造成相關的放款金融業者逐一倒閉。公元2015年上映的美國電影《大賣空》正是描述這段經歷。

公元2008年3月14日，作為美國金融龍頭之一的貝爾斯登宣告破產，成為這場金融風暴第一張倒下的骨牌。隨後同樣在過去房市大好之際，提供大量債務擔保證券的雷曼兄弟也面臨違約的風險，最終於9月15日當天宣告破產。雷曼兄弟的破產引發全球性金融危機，尤其是許多跟其有金融往來的跨國銀行和金融機構，造成美國國內的房地產市場崩盤和失業率飆升，歐洲多國的銀行也受到重創被迫依賴「國際貨幣基金組織」 (IMF) 和歐洲中央銀行援助。