BIS Review 35/2010  1  Capital outflows from smaller areas The financial crisis intensified from mid-September 2008 after the collapse of Lehman Bros. Risky assets such as shares and credit bonds plummeted. The heightened uncertainty prompted investors to seek safe havens. This led to portfolios shifts towards more secure assets.
There was a worldwide trend for foreign exchange to flow out of small capital areas and into larger ones. In other cases, portfolios were actually closed by investors who had bought assets, financed by short-term loans in foreign currency – such as dollars – that were subject to regular renewal.