ECB likens debt crisis turmoil to wake of Lehman

BERLIN: The European Central Bank said the financial market turmoil in Europe during the Greek sovereign debt crisis was as tense as it had been following the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008.

The ECB says the events prior to the European leaders' decision to set up a $1 trillion rescue fund for financially troubled countries saw a sudden change in sentiment and an abrupt flight to safety by investors.

The ECB said in its monthly bulletin for May released on Thursday that the market situation was ``in some respects comparable'' to the days following the bankruptcy of the US investment bank in October 2008.

It says market tensions spread beyond domestic sovereign bond markets, “triggering flight-to-safety behavior by investors on a large scale.”