Image caption Lehman Brothers was once the fourth largest investment bank in the US

Lehman Brothers, the US investment bank that collapsed in 2008, has exited from bankruptcy protection.

The move means the company is now free to sell its remaining assets and distribute the funds to creditors.

Lehman said in a statement that it will start giving about $65bn (£41bn) to creditors from 17 April.

Lehman's bankruptcy move on 15 September 2008 was widely seen as one of the key moments of the global financial crisis.

The bank employed more than 25,000 people at its peak, and was once the fourth largest investment bank in the US.

It collapsed in the face of billions of dollars of losses in the US sub-prime mortgage market.