Abstract
On Sept 15, 2008, ‘‘Dark Monday,’’ the world witnessed a
radical reshaping of Wall Street. Lehman Brothers fell
toward bankruptcy; Merrill Lynch was sold to its rival,
Bank of America; and AIG pleaded for $40 billion in
government relief. Those calamities marched in step with a
dismal parade including the US government takeover of
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the bailout of Bear Stearns,
and the entire subprime debacle.
We rightly blame Wall Street leaders for bungling
business decisions, for misestimating risk and overloading
banks with single-strategy investments. We now are living
with the aftermath of these business mistakes. But how
about ethical mistakes? Were they, too, part of the crisis?