From This Collection

How a red-hot housing market became a crisis

Jan 25, 2018
Lessons learned from the Divided Decade.
A builder works on a new home at a subdivision in North Aurora, Illinois, in 2007. Residential mortgage debt doubled between 2000 and 2008 in the U.S.
JEFF HAYNES/AFP/Getty Images
A view of Broadway Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio.
Tim Evanson/Visual hunt

Fannie Mae CEO reflects on housing 10 years after the financial crisis

Jan 24, 2018
Timothy Mayopoulos joined Fannie Mae a few months after it was taken over by the government. Today, he's the CEO.
Mark Wilson / Getty Images

The Fed's surprise move 10 years ago set the tone for its crisis response

Jan 23, 2018
Ten years ago this week, the Fed unexpectedly slashed interest rates at an unscheduled meeting. It was the first of many "bold" actions by the Fed during the financial crisis.
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke testifies during a hearing before the House Budget Committee Jan. 17, 2008 on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Bernanke was on the Hill to give his views on the outlook of U.S. economy and he said the economy has been growing slow.
TIM SLOAN/AFP/Getty Images

Sinking markets, emergency meetings: A Fed governor recalls 2008

Jan 22, 2018
For Randall Kroszner, 2008 was all about doing the exact opposite of what the Fed did in the 1930s.
Randall Kroszner of the Federal Reserve System Board of Governors (R) testifies before the House Financial Services Committee along with Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chairman Sheila Bair on Capitol Hill Dec. 6, 2007 in Washington, D.C. The committee held the hearing about accelerating loan modifications, improving foreclosure prevention and enhancing enforcement in an effort to stem damage from the subprime mortgage crisis.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Could the Federal Reserve have prevented the financial crisis?

Jan 22, 2018
A look at what the Fed was doing — and wasn't — before the crisis hit the headlines and your bank account.
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange January 22, 2008 in New York City. The Federal Reserve, in reaction to a severe downturn in worldwide stock markets and concern about a United States recession, reduced its interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point before the opening NYSC bell. 
Stephen Chernin/Getty Images