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Global financial crisis in September 2008

April 10, 2024

This article is about a detailed description of the financial market events of September 2008. For the background information, causes, effects and policy responses, see 2007–2008 financial crisis. For a timeline, see Subprime crisis impact timeline.

The subprime mortgage crisis reached a critical stage during the first week of September 2008, characterized by severely contracted liquidity in the global credit markets[1] and insolvency threats to investment banks and other institutions.

US government takeover of home mortgage lenders edit

Main article: Federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

The United States director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), James B. Lockhart III, on September 7, 2008, announced his decision to place two United States government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs), Fannie Mae (Federal National Mortgage Association) and Freddie Mac (Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation), into conservatorship run by FHFA.[2][3][4] United States Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, at the same press conference stated that placing the two GSEs into conservatorship was a decision he fully supported, and said that he advised "that conservatorship was the only form in which I would commit taxpayer money to the GSEs." He further said that "I attribute the need for today's action primarily to the inherent conflict and flawed business model embedded in the GSE structure, and to the ongoing housing correction."[2] The same day, Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Ben Bernanke stated in support: "I strongly endorse both the decision by FHFA Director Lockhart to place Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into conservatorship and the actions taken by Treasury Secretary Paulson to ensure the financial soundness of those two companies."[5]

Developing global financial crisis edit

Main article: Financial crisis of 2007-08
 
Dow Jones Industrial Average Jan 2006 - Nov 2008

Beginning with bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers at midnight Monday, September 15, 2008, the financial crisis entered an acute phase marked by failures of prominent American and European banks and efforts by the American and European governments to rescue distressed financial institutions, in the United States by passage of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 and in European countries by infusion of capital into major banks. Afterwards, Iceland almost claimed to go bankrupt as the country's three largest banks, and in effect financial system, collapsed.[6] Many financial institutions in Europe also faced the liquidity problem that they needed to raise their capital adequacy ratio. As the crisis developed, stock markets fell worldwide, and global financial regulators attempted to coordinate efforts to contain the crisis. The US government composed a $700 billion plan to purchase unperforming collaterals and assets. However, the plan failed to pass because some members of the US Congress rejected the idea of using taxpayers' money to bail out Wall Street investment bankers. After the stock market plunged, Congress amended the $700 billion bail out plan and passed the legislation. The market sentiment continued to deteriorate, however, and the global financial system almost collapsed. While the market turned extremely pessimistic, the British government launched a 500 billion pound bail out plan aimed at injecting capital into the financial system. The British government nationalized most of the financial institutions in trouble. Many European governments followed suit, as well as the US government. Stock markets appeared to have stabilized as October ended. In addition, the falling prices due to reduced demand for oil, coupled with projections of a global recession, brought the 2000s energy crisis to temporary resolution.[7][8] In the Eastern European economies of Poland, Hungary, Romania, and Ukraine the economic crisis was characterized by difficulties with loans made in hard currencies such as the Swiss franc. As local currencies in those countries lost value, making payment on such loans became progressively more difficult.[9]

As the financial panic developed during September and October 2008, there was a "flight-to-quality" as investors sought safety in U.S. Treasury bonds, gold, and currencies such as the US dollar (still widely perceived as the world's reserve currency) and the Yen (mainly through unwinding of carry trades). This currency crisis threatened to disrupt international trade and produced strong pressure on all world currencies. The International Monetary Fund had limited resources relative to the needs of the many nations with currency under pressure or near collapse.[10]

A further shift towards assets that are perceived as tangible, sustainable, like gold[11] or land[12][13] (as opposed to "paper assets") was anticipated. However, as events progressed during early 2009, it was U.S. Treasury bonds which were the main refuge chosen. This inflow of money into the United States translated into an outflow from other countries restricting their ability to raise money for local rescue efforts.[14][15]

Major US financial firms' crisis edit

 
The collapse of Lehman Brothers was a symbol of the global financial crisis

On Sunday, September 14, it was announced that Lehman Brothers would file for bankruptcy after the Federal Reserve Bank declined to participate in creating a financial support facility for Lehman Brothers. The significance of the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy is disputed with some assigning it a pivotal role in the unfolding of subsequent events. The principals involved, Ben Bernanke and Henry Paulson, dispute this view, citing a volume of toxic assets at Lehman which made a rescue impossible.[16][17] Immediately following the bankruptcy, JPMorgan Chase provided the broker dealer unit of Lehman Brothers with $138 billion to "settle securities transactions with customers of Lehman and its clearance parties" according to a statement made in a New York City Bankruptcy court filing.[18]

The same day, the sale of Merrill Lynch to Bank of America was announced.[19] The beginning of the week was marked by extreme instability in global stock markets, with dramatic drops in market values on Monday, September 15, and Wednesday, September 17. On September 16, the large insurer American International Group (AIG), a significant participant in the credit default swaps markets, suffered a liquidity crisis following the downgrade of its credit rating. The Federal Reserve, at AIG's request, and after AIG had shown that it could not find lenders willing to save it from insolvency, created a credit facility for up to US$85 billion in exchange for a 79.9% equity interest, and the right to suspend dividends to previously issued common and preferred stock.[20]

Money market funds insurance and short sales prohibitions edit

On September 16, the Reserve Primary Fund, a large money market mutual fund, lowered its share price below $1 because of exposure to Lehman debt securities. This resulted in demands from investors to return their funds as the financial crisis mounted.[21] By the morning of September 18, money market sell orders from institutional investors totalled $0.5 trillion, out of a total market capitalization of $4 trillion, but a $105 billion liquidity injection from the Federal Reserve averted an immediate collapse.[22][23] On September 19 the U.S. Treasury offered temporary insurance (akin to Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insurance of bank accounts) to money market funds.[24] Toward the end of the week, short selling of financial stocks was suspended by the Financial Services Authority in the United Kingdom and by the Securities and Exchange Commission in the United States.[25] Similar measures were taken by authorities in other countries.[26] Some restoration of market confidence occurred with the publicity surrounding efforts of the Treasury and the Securities Exchange Commission[27][28]

US Troubled Asset Relief Program edit

Main articles: Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 and Troubled Assets Relief Program

On September 19, 2008, a plan intended to ameliorate the difficulties caused by the subprime mortgage crisis was proposed by the Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Paulson. He proposed a Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP), later incorporated into the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, which would permit the United States government to purchase illiquid assets, informally termed toxic assets, from financial institutions.[29][30] The value of the securities is extremely difficult to determine.[31]

Consultations between the Secretary of the Treasury, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, and the Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Congressional leaders and the President of the United States moved forward plans to advance a comprehensive solution to the problems created by illiquid mortgage-backed securities. Of this time the President later said: "... I was told by [my] chief economic advisors that the situation we were facing could be worse than the Great Depression."[32][33][34]

At the close of the week the Secretary of the Treasury and President Bush announced a proposal for the federal government to buy up to US$700 billion of illiquid mortgage-backed securities with the intent to increase the liquidity of the secondary mortgage markets and reduce potential losses encountered by financial institutions owning the securities. The draft proposal of the plan was received favorably by investors in the stock market. Details of the bailout remained to be acted upon by Congress.[35][36][37][38]

Week of September 21 edit

On Sunday, September 21, the two remaining US investment banks, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, with the approval of the Federal Reserve, converted to bank holding companies, a status subject to more regulation, but with readier access to capital.[39] On September 21, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announced that the original proposal, which would have excluded foreign banks, had been widened to include foreign financial institutions with a presence in the US. The US administration was pressuring other countries to set up similar bailout plans.[40]

On Monday and Tuesday during the week of September 22, appearances were made by the US Secretary of the Treasury and the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve before Congressional committees and on Wednesday a prime-time presidential address was delivered by the President of the United States on television. Behind the scenes, negotiations were held refining the proposal which had grown to 42 pages from its original 3 and was reported to include both an oversight structure and limitations on executive salaries, with other provisions under consideration.

On September 25, agreement was reported by congressional leaders on the basics of the package;[41] however, general and vocal opposition to the proposal was voiced by the public.[42] On Thursday afternoon at a White House meeting attended by congressional leaders and the presidential candidates, John McCain and Barack Obama, it became clear that there was no congressional consensus, with Republican representatives and the ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, Richard C. Shelby, strongly opposing the proposal.[43] The alternative advanced by conservative House Republicans was to create a system of mortgage insurance funded by fees on those holding mortgages; as the working week ended, negotiations continued on the plan, which had grown to 102 pages and included mortgage insurance as an option.[44][45][46] On Thursday evening Washington Mutual, the nation's largest savings and loan, was seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and most of its assets transferred to JPMorgan Chase.[47] Wachovia, one of the largest US banks, was reported to be in negotiations with Citigroup and other financial institutions.[48]

Week of September 28 edit

Early on Sunday morning an announcement was made by the United States Secretary of the Treasury and congressional leaders that agreement had been reached on all major issues: the total amount of $700 billion remained with provision for the option of creating a scheme of mortgage insurance.[49]

It was reported on Sunday, September 28, that a rescue plan had been crafted for the British mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley.[50] Grupo Santander, the largest bank in Spain, was slated to take over the offices and savings accounts while the mortgage and loans business would be nationalized.[51]

Fortis, a huge Benelux banking and finance company was partially nationalized on September 28, 2008, with Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg investing a total of €11.2 billion (US$16.3 billion) in the bank. Belgium will purchase 49% of Fortis's Belgian division, with the Netherlands doing the same for the Dutch division. Luxembourg has agreed to a loan convertible into a 49% share of Fortis's Luxembourg division.[52]

It was reported on Monday morning, September 29, that Wachovia, the 4th largest bank in the United States, would be acquired by Citigroup.[53][54]

On Monday the German finance minister announced a rescue of Hypo Real Estate, a Munich-based holding company comprising a number of real estate financing banks, but the deal collapsed on Saturday, October 4.

The same day the government of Iceland nationalized Glitnir, Iceland's third largest lender.[55][56]

Stocks fell dramatically Monday in Europe and the US despite infusion of funds into the market for short term credit.[57][58] In the US the Dow dropped 777.68 points (6.98%),[59] then the largest one-day point-drop in history (but only the 17th largest percentage drop).[citation needed]

The U.S. bailout plan, now named the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 and expanded to 110 pages was slated for consideration in the House of Representatives on Monday, September 29 as HR 3997 and in the Senate later in the week.[60][61] The plan failed after the vote being held open for 40 minutes in the House of Representatives, 205 for the plan, 228 against.[62][63] Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve announced it will inject $630 billion into the global financial system to increase the liquidity of dollars worldwide as US stock markets suffered steep declines, the Dow losing 300 points in a matter of minutes, ending down 777.68 (6.98%), the Nasdaq losing 199.61 (9.14%), falling below the 2,000 point mark, and the S&P 500 off 106.62 (8.79%) for the day.[64][65] By the end of the day, the Dow suffered the largest drop in the history of the index.[66] The S&P 500 Banking Index fell 14% on September 29 with drops in the stock value of a number of US banks generally considered sound, including Bank of New York Mellon, State Street and Northern Trust; three Ohio banks, National City, Fifth Third, and KeyBank were down dramatically.[67][68]

On Tuesday, September 30, stocks rebounded but credit markets remained tight with the London Interbank Offered Rate (overnight dollar Libor) rising 4.7% to 6.88%.[69] 9 billion USD was made available by the French, Belgian and Luxembourg governments to the French-Belgian bank Dexia.[70]

After Irish banks came under pressure on Monday, September 29, the Irish government undertook a two-year "guarantee arrangement to safeguard all deposits (retail, commercial, institutional and inter-bank), covered bonds, senior debt and dated subordinated debt (lower tier II)" of 6 Irish banks: Allied Irish Banks, Bank of Ireland, Anglo Irish Bank, Irish Life and Permanent, Irish Nationwide and the EBS Building Society; the potential liability involved is about 400 billion dollars.[71]

Key risk indicators in September edit

 
The TED spread – an indicator of credit risk – increased dramatically during September 2008.

Key risk indicators became highly volatile during September 2008, a factor leading the U.S. government to pass the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. The "TED spread" is a measure of credit risk for inter-bank lending. It is the difference between: 1) the risk-free three-month U.S. treasury bill rate; and 2) the three-month London InterBank Offered Rate (LIBOR), which represents the rate at which banks typically lend to each other. A higher spread indicates banks perceive each other as riskier counterparties. The t-bill is considered "risk-free" because the full faith and credit of the U.S. government is behind it; theoretically, the government could just print money so that the principal is fully repaid at maturity. The TED spread reached record levels in late September 2008. The diagram indicates that the Treasury yield movement was a more significant driver than the changes in LIBOR. A three-month t-bill yield so close to zero means that people are willing to forgo interest just to keep their money (principal) safe for three months – a very high level of risk aversion and indicative of tight lending conditions. Driving this change were investors shifting funds from money market funds (generally considered nearly risk free but paying a slightly higher rate of return than t-bills) and other investment types to t-bills.[72] These issues are consistent with the September 2008 aspects of the subprime mortgage crisis which prompted the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 signed into law by U.S. President George W. Bush on October 2, 2008.

In addition, an increase in LIBOR means that financial instruments with variable interest terms are increasingly expensive. For example, car loans and credit card interest rates are often tied to LIBOR; some estimate as much as $150 trillion in loans and derivatives are tied to LIBOR.[73] Furthermore, the basis swap between one-month LIBOR and three-month LIBOR increased from 30 basis points in the beginning of September to a high of over 100 basis points. Financial institutions with liability exposure to 1 month LIBOR but funding from 3 month LIBOR faced increased funding costs. Overall, higher interest rates place additional downward pressure on consumption, increasing the risk of recession.

See also edit

Stock markets worldwide fall dramatically

References edit

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  2. ^ a b Paulson, Henry M. Jr. (2008-09-07). (Press release). United States Department of the Treasury. Archived from the original on September 9, 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-07.
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  5. ^ Bernanke, Ben S. (2008-09-07). "Statement by Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben S. Bernanke". Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Retrieved 2008-09-10.
  6. ^ "Financial Crisis in Iceland: Affected Banks"
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  8. ^ Krauss, Clifford (October 13, 2008). "Commodity Prices Tumble". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-03-08.
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  20. ^ See American International Group for details and citations.
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  32. ^ Greater than the great depression
  33. ^ Bush Press Conference
  34. ^ Bush Press Conference Transcript
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  42. ^ "Lawmakers' Constituents Make Their Bailout Views Loud and Clear" article by Sheryl Gay Stolberg in The New York Times September 24, 2008
  43. ^ "Talks Implode During Day of Chaos; Fate of Bailout Plan Remains Unresolved" article by David M. Herszenhorn, Carl Hulse, and Sheryl Gay Stolberg in The New York Times September 25, 2008
  44. ^ "Conservatives Viewed Bailout Plan as Last Straw" article by Carl Hulse in The New York Times September 26, 2008
  45. ^ "Politics Take Hold of Bailout Proposal" article by David M. Herszenhorn in The New York Times September 26, 2008
  46. ^ "House Republicans Support a Plan That Would Insure Troubled Mortgages" article by Edmund L. Andrews in The New York Times September 26, 2008
  47. ^ "Government Seizes WaMu and Sells Some Assets" article by Eric Dash and Andrew Ross Sorkin in The New York Times
  48. ^ "Wachovia, Looking for Help, Turns to Citigroup" article by Ben White and Eric Dash in The New York Times September 26, 2008
  49. ^ "Breakthrough Reached in Negotiations on Bailout" article by David M. Herszenhorn and Carl Hulse in The New York Times September 27, 2008
  50. ^ "Britain Close to Takeover of Another Lender" article by Landon Thomas, Jr. in The New York Times September 28, 2008
  51. ^ The Times. "Taxpayers must risk billions for Bradford & Bingley" article by Philip Webster, Patrick Hosking and Tim Reid in The Times September 29, 2008
  52. ^ van der Starre, Martijn; Meera Louis (2008-09-29). . Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 2008-09-22. Retrieved 2008-09-29.
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  54. ^ Sorkin, Andrew Ross; Eric Dash (2008-09-28). "Citigroup and Wells Fargo Said to Be Bidding for Wachovia". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-09-29.
  55. ^ Glitnir, About Glitnir, News: 29.09.2008, The government of Iceland acquires 75 percent share in Glitnir Bank October 2, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  56. ^ Prime Minister's Office, News and Articles: The Government of Iceland provides Glitnir with new equity (9/29/08)
  57. ^ Hunter, Michael; Neil Dennis (2008-09-29). "Heavy stock losses after Fed action". The Financial Times. Retrieved 2008-09-29.
  58. ^ Politi, James; Krishna Guha; Daniel Dombey; Harvey Morris (2008-09-29). "Central banks pump cash into system". The Financial Times. Retrieved 2008-09-29.
  59. ^ "U.S. stocks slide, Dow plunges 777 points, as bailout fails". MarketWatch. 2008-09-29. Retrieved 2008-09-29.
  60. ^ Information from C-Span September 29, 2008
  61. ^ Hulse, Carl; David M. Herszenhorn (2008-09-28). "Bailout Plan in Hand, House Braces for Tough Vote". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-09-29.
  62. ^ C-Span 2 PM 9/30/08
  63. ^ Hulse, Carl; David M. Herszenhorn (2008-09-29). "House Rejects Bailout Package, 228-205, But New Vote Is Planned; Stocks Plunge". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-09-29.
  64. ^ Lanman, Scott (2008-09-29). "Fed Pumps Further $630 Billion Into Financial System (Update3)". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2009-06-16.
  65. ^ Grynbaum, Michael M. (2008-09-29). "For Stocks, Worst Single-Day Drop in Two Decades". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-09-29.
  66. ^ Twin, Alexandra (2008-09-29). "Stocks crushed". CNN Money. Retrieved 2008-09-29.
  67. ^ Smith, Aaron (2008-09-29). "Wondering which bank is next: Analysts brace for more bank failures after Wachovia sells out banking assets to Citi; bank stocks plunge after House rejects bailout bill". CNN Money. Retrieved 2008-09-29.
  68. ^ Dash, Eric (2008-09-29). "With Wachovia Sale, the Banking Crisis Trickles Up". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-09-29.
  69. ^ Guha, Krishna; Harvey Morris; James Politi in Washington; Paul J Davies (2008-09-30). "Banking's crisis of confidence deepens". The Financial Times. Retrieved 2008-09-30.
  70. ^ Daneshkhu, Scheherazade; Ben Hall (2008-09-30). "Dexia receives €6.4bn capital injection". The Financial Times. Retrieved 2008-09-30.
  71. ^ "Government statement (of the Government of Ireland)". The Irish Times. 2008-10-01. Retrieved 2008-10-01.
  72. ^ Gullapalli, Diya and Anand, Shefali. "Bailout of Money Funds Seems to Stanch Outflow", The Wall Street Journal, September 20, 2008.
  73. ^ Markewatch Article - LIBOR Jumps to Record

Further reading edit

April 10, 2024
global, financial, crisis, september, 2008, this, article, about, detailed, description, financial, market, events, september, 2008, background, information, causes, effects, policy, responses, 2007, 2008, financial, crisis, timeline, subprime, crisis, impact,. This article is about a detailed description of the financial market events of September 2008 For the background information causes effects and policy responses see 2007 2008 financial crisis For a timeline see Subprime crisis impact timeline The subprime mortgage crisis reached a critical stage during the first week of September 2008 characterized by severely contracted liquidity in the global credit markets 1 and insolvency threats to investment banks and other institutions Contents 1 US government takeover of home mortgage lenders 2 Developing global financial crisis 3 Major US financial firms crisis 3 1 Money market funds insurance and short sales prohibitions 3 2 US Troubled Asset Relief Program 4 Week of September 21 5 Week of September 28 6 Key risk indicators in September 7 See also 8 References 9 Further readingUS government takeover of home mortgage lenders editMain article Federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac The United States director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency FHFA James B Lockhart III on September 7 2008 announced his decision to place two United States government sponsored enterprises GSEs Fannie Mae Federal National Mortgage Association and Freddie Mac Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation into conservatorship run by FHFA 2 3 4 United States Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson at the same press conference stated that placing the two GSEs into conservatorship was a decision he fully supported and said that he advised that conservatorship was the only form in which I would commit taxpayer money to the GSEs He further said that I attribute the need for today s action primarily to the inherent conflict and flawed business model embedded in the GSE structure and to the ongoing housing correction 2 The same day Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Ben Bernanke stated in support I strongly endorse both the decision by FHFA Director Lockhart to place Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into conservatorship and the actions taken by Treasury Secretary Paulson to ensure the financial soundness of those two companies 5 Developing global financial crisis editMain article Financial crisis of 2007 08 nbsp Dow Jones Industrial Average Jan 2006 Nov 2008Beginning with bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers at midnight Monday September 15 2008 the financial crisis entered an acute phase marked by failures of prominent American and European banks and efforts by the American and European governments to rescue distressed financial institutions in the United States by passage of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 and in European countries by infusion of capital into major banks Afterwards Iceland almost claimed to go bankrupt as the country s three largest banks and in effect financial system collapsed 6 Many financial institutions in Europe also faced the liquidity problem that they needed to raise their capital adequacy ratio As the crisis developed stock markets fell worldwide and global financial regulators attempted to coordinate efforts to contain the crisis The US government composed a 700 billion plan to purchase unperforming collaterals and assets However the plan failed to pass because some members of the US Congress rejected the idea of using taxpayers money to bail out Wall Street investment bankers After the stock market plunged Congress amended the 700 billion bail out plan and passed the legislation The market sentiment continued to deteriorate however and the global financial system almost collapsed While the market turned extremely pessimistic the British government launched a 500 billion pound bail out plan aimed at injecting capital into the financial system The British government nationalized most of the financial institutions in trouble Many European governments followed suit as well as the US government Stock markets appeared to have stabilized as October ended In addition the falling prices due to reduced demand for oil coupled with projections of a global recession brought the 2000s energy crisis to temporary resolution 7 8 In the Eastern European economies of Poland Hungary Romania and Ukraine the economic crisis was characterized by difficulties with loans made in hard currencies such as the Swiss franc As local currencies in those countries lost value making payment on such loans became progressively more difficult 9 As the financial panic developed during September and October 2008 there was a flight to quality as investors sought safety in U S Treasury bonds gold and currencies such as the US dollar still widely perceived as the world s reserve currency and the Yen mainly through unwinding of carry trades This currency crisis threatened to disrupt international trade and produced strong pressure on all world currencies The International Monetary Fund had limited resources relative to the needs of the many nations with currency under pressure or near collapse 10 A further shift towards assets that are perceived as tangible sustainable like gold 11 or land 12 13 as opposed to paper assets was anticipated However as events progressed during early 2009 it was U S Treasury bonds which were the main refuge chosen This inflow of money into the United States translated into an outflow from other countries restricting their ability to raise money for local rescue efforts 14 15 Major US financial firms crisis edit nbsp The collapse of Lehman Brothers was a symbol of the global financial crisisOn Sunday September 14 it was announced that Lehman Brothers would file for bankruptcy after the Federal Reserve Bank declined to participate in creating a financial support facility for Lehman Brothers The significance of the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy is disputed with some assigning it a pivotal role in the unfolding of subsequent events The principals involved Ben Bernanke and Henry Paulson dispute this view citing a volume of toxic assets at Lehman which made a rescue impossible 16 17 Immediately following the bankruptcy JPMorgan Chase provided the broker dealer unit of Lehman Brothers with 138 billion to settle securities transactions with customers of Lehman and its clearance parties according to a statement made in a New York City Bankruptcy court filing 18 The same day the sale of Merrill Lynch to Bank of America was announced 19 The beginning of the week was marked by extreme instability in global stock markets with dramatic drops in market values on Monday September 15 and Wednesday September 17 On September 16 the large insurer American International Group AIG a significant participant in the credit default swaps markets suffered a liquidity crisis following the downgrade of its credit rating The Federal Reserve at AIG s request and after AIG had shown that it could not find lenders willing to save it from insolvency created a credit facility for up to US 85 billion in exchange for a 79 9 equity interest and the right to suspend dividends to previously issued common and preferred stock 20 Money market funds insurance and short sales prohibitions edit On September 16 the Reserve Primary Fund a large money market mutual fund lowered its share price below 1 because of exposure to Lehman debt securities This resulted in demands from investors to return their funds as the financial crisis mounted 21 By the morning of September 18 money market sell orders from institutional investors totalled 0 5 trillion out of a total market capitalization of 4 trillion but a 105 billion liquidity injection from the Federal Reserve averted an immediate collapse 22 23 On September 19 the U S Treasury offered temporary insurance akin to Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insurance of bank accounts to money market funds 24 Toward the end of the week short selling of financial stocks was suspended by the Financial Services Authority in the United Kingdom and by the Securities and Exchange Commission in the United States 25 Similar measures were taken by authorities in other countries 26 Some restoration of market confidence occurred with the publicity surrounding efforts of the Treasury and the Securities Exchange Commission 27 28 US Troubled Asset Relief Program edit Main articles Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 and Troubled Assets Relief Program On September 19 2008 a plan intended to ameliorate the difficulties caused by the subprime mortgage crisis was proposed by the Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson He proposed a Troubled Assets Relief Program TARP later incorporated into the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act which would permit the United States government to purchase illiquid assets informally termed toxic assets from financial institutions 29 30 The value of the securities is extremely difficult to determine 31 Consultations between the Secretary of the Treasury the Chairman of the Federal Reserve and the Chairman of the U S Securities and Exchange Commission Congressional leaders and the President of the United States moved forward plans to advance a comprehensive solution to the problems created by illiquid mortgage backed securities Of this time the President later said I was told by my chief economic advisors that the situation we were facing could be worse than the Great Depression 32 33 34 At the close of the week the Secretary of the Treasury and President Bush announced a proposal for the federal government to buy up to US 700 billion of illiquid mortgage backed securities with the intent to increase the liquidity of the secondary mortgage markets and reduce potential losses encountered by financial institutions owning the securities The draft proposal of the plan was received favorably by investors in the stock market Details of the bailout remained to be acted upon by Congress 35 36 37 38 Week of September 21 editOn Sunday September 21 the two remaining US investment banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley with the approval of the Federal Reserve converted to bank holding companies a status subject to more regulation but with readier access to capital 39 On September 21 Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announced that the original proposal which would have excluded foreign banks had been widened to include foreign financial institutions with a presence in the US The US administration was pressuring other countries to set up similar bailout plans 40 On Monday and Tuesday during the week of September 22 appearances were made by the US Secretary of the Treasury and the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve before Congressional committees and on Wednesday a prime time presidential address was delivered by the President of the United States on television Behind the scenes negotiations were held refining the proposal which had grown to 42 pages from its original 3 and was reported to include both an oversight structure and limitations on executive salaries with other provisions under consideration On September 25 agreement was reported by congressional leaders on the basics of the package 41 however general and vocal opposition to the proposal was voiced by the public 42 On Thursday afternoon at a White House meeting attended by congressional leaders and the presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama it became clear that there was no congressional consensus with Republican representatives and the ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee Richard C Shelby strongly opposing the proposal 43 The alternative advanced by conservative House Republicans was to create a system of mortgage insurance funded by fees on those holding mortgages as the working week ended negotiations continued on the plan which had grown to 102 pages and included mortgage insurance as an option 44 45 46 On Thursday evening Washington Mutual the nation s largest savings and loan was seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and most of its assets transferred to JPMorgan Chase 47 Wachovia one of the largest US banks was reported to be in negotiations with Citigroup and other financial institutions 48 Week of September 28 editEarly on Sunday morning an announcement was made by the United States Secretary of the Treasury and congressional leaders that agreement had been reached on all major issues the total amount of 700 billion remained with provision for the option of creating a scheme of mortgage insurance 49 It was reported on Sunday September 28 that a rescue plan had been crafted for the British mortgage lender Bradford amp Bingley 50 Grupo Santander the largest bank in Spain was slated to take over the offices and savings accounts while the mortgage and loans business would be nationalized 51 Fortis a huge Benelux banking and finance company was partially nationalized on September 28 2008 with Belgium the Netherlands and Luxembourg investing a total of 11 2 billion US 16 3 billion in the bank Belgium will purchase 49 of Fortis s Belgian division with the Netherlands doing the same for the Dutch division Luxembourg has agreed to a loan convertible into a 49 share of Fortis s Luxembourg division 52 It was reported on Monday morning September 29 that Wachovia the 4th largest bank in the United States would be acquired by Citigroup 53 54 On Monday the German finance minister announced a rescue of Hypo Real Estate a Munich based holding company comprising a number of real estate financing banks but the deal collapsed on Saturday October 4 The same day the government of Iceland nationalized Glitnir Iceland s third largest lender 55 56 Stocks fell dramatically Monday in Europe and the US despite infusion of funds into the market for short term credit 57 58 In the US the Dow dropped 777 68 points 6 98 59 then the largest one day point drop in history but only the 17th largest percentage drop citation needed The U S bailout plan now named the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 and expanded to 110 pages was slated for consideration in the House of Representatives on Monday September 29 as HR 3997 and in the Senate later in the week 60 61 The plan failed after the vote being held open for 40 minutes in the House of Representatives 205 for the plan 228 against 62 63 Meanwhile the Federal Reserve announced it will inject 630 billion into the global financial system to increase the liquidity of dollars worldwide as US stock markets suffered steep declines the Dow losing 300 points in a matter of minutes ending down 777 68 6 98 the Nasdaq losing 199 61 9 14 falling below the 2 000 point mark and the S amp P 500 off 106 62 8 79 for the day 64 65 By the end of the day the Dow suffered the largest drop in the history of the index 66 The S amp P 500 Banking Index fell 14 on September 29 with drops in the stock value of a number of US banks generally considered sound including Bank of New York Mellon State Street and Northern Trust three Ohio banks National City Fifth Third and KeyBank were down dramatically 67 68 On Tuesday September 30 stocks rebounded but credit markets remained tight with the London Interbank Offered Rate overnight dollar Libor rising 4 7 to 6 88 69 9 billion USD was made available by the French Belgian and Luxembourg governments to the French Belgian bank Dexia 70 After Irish banks came under pressure on Monday September 29 the Irish government undertook a two year guarantee arrangement to safeguard all deposits retail commercial institutional and inter bank covered bonds senior debt and dated subordinated debt lower tier II of 6 Irish banks Allied Irish Banks Bank of Ireland Anglo Irish Bank Irish Life and Permanent Irish Nationwide and the EBS Building Society the potential liability involved is about 400 billion dollars 71 Key risk indicators in September edit nbsp The TED spread an indicator of credit risk increased dramatically during September 2008 Key risk indicators became highly volatile during September 2008 a factor leading the U S government to pass the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 The TED spread is a measure of credit risk for inter bank lending It is the difference between 1 the risk free three month U S treasury bill rate and 2 the three month London InterBank Offered Rate LIBOR which represents the rate at which banks typically lend to each other A higher spread indicates banks perceive each other as riskier counterparties The t bill is considered risk free because the full faith and credit of the U S government is behind it theoretically the government could just print money so that the principal is fully repaid at maturity The TED spread reached record levels in late September 2008 The diagram indicates that the Treasury yield movement was a more significant driver than the changes in LIBOR A three month t bill yield so close to zero means that people are willing to forgo interest just to keep their money principal safe for three months a very high level of risk aversion and indicative of tight lending conditions Driving this change were investors shifting funds from money market funds generally considered nearly risk free but paying a slightly higher rate of return than t bills and other investment types to t bills 72 These issues are consistent with the September 2008 aspects of the subprime mortgage crisis which prompted the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 signed into law by U S President George W Bush on October 2 2008 In addition an increase in LIBOR means that financial instruments with variable interest terms are increasingly expensive For example car loans and credit card interest rates are often tied to LIBOR some estimate as much as 150 trillion in loans and derivatives are tied to LIBOR 73 Furthermore the basis swap between one month LIBOR and three month LIBOR increased from 30 basis points in the beginning of September to a high of over 100 basis points Financial institutions with liability exposure to 1 month LIBOR but funding from 3 month LIBOR faced increased funding costs Overall higher interest rates place additional downward pressure on consumption increasing the risk of recession See also edit source source Stock markets worldwide fall dramaticallyGlobal financial crisis in October 2008 Global financial crisis in November 2008 Global financial crisis in December 2008 Global financial crisis in 2009 Subprime crisis impact timeline Timeline of the United States housing bubble for the pre subprime crisis timelineReferences edit Banks in Miser Mode Archived October 3 2008 at the Wayback Machine a b Paulson Henry M Jr 2008 09 07 Statement by Secretary Henry M Paulson Jr on Treasury and Federal Housing Finance Agency Action to Protect Financial Markets and Taxpayers Press release United States Department of the Treasury Archived from the original on September 9 2008 Retrieved 2008 09 07 Lockhart James B III 2008 09 07 Statement of FHFA Director James B Lockhart Federal Housing Finance Agency Archived from the original on 2008 09 12 Retrieved 2008 09 07 Fact Sheet Questions and Answers on Conservatorship PDF Federal Housing Finance Agency 2008 09 07 Archived from the original PDF on September 9 2008 Retrieved 2008 09 07 Bernanke Ben S 2008 09 07 Statement by Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben S Bernanke Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Retrieved 2008 09 10 Financial Crisis in Iceland Affected Banks Jolly David October 10 2008 Oil Closes Below 78 as Demand Forecast Is Cut The New York Times pp B8 Retrieved 2009 03 08 Krauss Clifford October 13 2008 Commodity Prices Tumble The New York Times Retrieved 2009 03 08 Panic Strikes East Europe Borrowers as Banks Cut Franc Loans article by Ben Holland Laura Cochrane and Balazs Penz Bloomberg October 31 2008 Landler Mark Vikas Bajaj 2008 10 24 Dollar and Yen Soar as Other Currencies Fall and Stocks Slip The New York Times Retrieved 2008 10 25 Hale David 2009 01 05 There is only one alternative to the dollar Financial Times Retrieved 2009 01 08 Branford Sue 2008 11 22 Land Grab guardian co uk Retrieved 2009 01 08 investment banks and private equity seeing land as a safe haven from the financial storm The 2008 landgrab for food and financial security grain org NGO Oct 2008 Retrieved 2009 01 08 Goodman Peter S 2009 03 08 A Rising Dollar Lifts the U S but Adds to the Crisis Abroad The New York Times Retrieved 2009 03 09 Faiola Anthony 2009 03 09 U S Downturn Dragging World Into Recession The Washington Post Retrieved 2009 03 09 Grynbaum Michael M 2008 10 15 Bernanke Says Bailout Will Need Time to Work The New York Times Retrieved 2008 10 15 Nocera Joe Edmund L Andrews 2008 10 22 Struggling to Keep Up as the Crisis Raced On The New York Times Retrieved 2008 10 23 Kary Tiffany Chris Scinta 2008 09 16 JPMorgan Gave Lehman 138 Billion After Bankruptcy Bloomberg Archived from the original on 2008 09 20 Retrieved 2008 09 16 Lehman Files for Bankruptcy Merrill Is Sold article by Andrew Ross Sorkin in The New York Times September 14 2008 See American International Group for details and citations Money Market Funds Enter a World of Risk article by Tara Siegel Bernard in The New York Times September 17 2008 Gray Michael Almost Armageddon Markets Were 500 Trades from a Meltdown September 21 2008 New York Post House Representative Kanjorski about the 550 Billion run on the banks in two hours during September 2008 Treasury Announces Guaranty Program for Money Market Funds Archived 2009 05 02 at the Wayback Machine September 19 2008 Press Release United States Department of the Treasury S E C Issues Temporary Ban on Short Selling article by Vikas Bajaj and Jonathan D Glater in The New York Times September 19 2008 Australian short selling ban goes further than other bourses NBR 2008 09 22 Archived from the original on 2011 09 27 Retrieved 2008 09 22 Stocks Surge as U S Acts to Shore Up Money Funds and Limits Short Selling article by Graham Bowley in The New York Times September 19 2008 Congressional Leaders Were Stunned by Warnings article by David M Herszenhorn in The New York Times September 19 2008 Vast Bailout by U S Proposed in Bid to Stem Financial Crisis article by Edmund L Andrews in The New York Times September 18 2008 Paulson Argues for Need to Buy Mortgages article by David Stout in The New York Times September 19 2008 Plan s Mystery What s All This Stuff Worth article by Vikas Bajaj in The New York Times September 24 2008 Greater than the great depression Bush Press Conference Bush Press Conference Transcript Bush Officials Urge Swift Action on Rescue Powers article by Edmund L Andrews in The New York Times September 19 2008 Draft Proposal for Bailout Plan September 21 2008 New York Times Rescue Plan Seeks 700 Billion to Buy Bad Mortgages article by The Associated Press in The New York Times September 20 2008 700 Billion Is Sought for Wall Street in Vast Bailout article by David M Herszenhorn in The New York Times September 20 2008 Shift for Goldman and Morgan Marks the End of an Era article by Andrew Ross Sorkin and Vikas Bajaj in The New York Times September 21 2008 Schwartz Nelson D Carter Dougherty 2008 09 22 Foreign Banks Hope Bailout Will Be Global The New York Times Lawmakers Agree on Outline of Bailout article by David M Herszenhorn in The New York Times September 25 2008 Lawmakers Constituents Make Their Bailout Views Loud and Clear article by Sheryl Gay Stolberg in The New York Times September 24 2008 Talks Implode During Day of Chaos Fate of Bailout Plan Remains Unresolved article by David M Herszenhorn Carl Hulse and Sheryl Gay Stolberg in The New York Times September 25 2008 Conservatives Viewed Bailout Plan as Last Straw article by Carl Hulse in The New York Times September 26 2008 Politics Take Hold of Bailout Proposal article by David M Herszenhorn in The New York Times September 26 2008 House Republicans Support a Plan That Would Insure Troubled Mortgages article by Edmund L Andrews in The New York Times September 26 2008 Government Seizes WaMu and Sells Some Assets article by Eric Dash and Andrew Ross Sorkin in The New York Times Wachovia Looking for Help Turns to Citigroup article by Ben White and Eric Dash in The New York Times September 26 2008 Breakthrough Reached in Negotiations on Bailout article by David M Herszenhorn and Carl Hulse in The New York Times September 27 2008 Britain Close to Takeover of Another Lender article by Landon Thomas Jr in The New York Times September 28 2008 The Times Taxpayers must risk billions for Bradford amp Bingley article by Philip Webster Patrick Hosking and Tim Reid in The Times September 29 2008 van der Starre Martijn Meera Louis 2008 09 29 Fortis Gets EU11 2 Billion Rescue From Governments Bloomberg Archived from the original on 2008 09 22 Retrieved 2008 09 29 Sorkin Andrew Ross 2008 09 30 Citigroup to Buy Wachovia Banking Operations The New York Times blog Dealbook Retrieved 2008 09 29 Sorkin Andrew Ross Eric Dash 2008 09 28 Citigroup and Wells Fargo Said to Be Bidding for Wachovia The New York Times Retrieved 2008 09 29 Glitnir About Glitnir News 29 09 2008 The government of Iceland acquires 75 percent share in Glitnir Bank Archived October 2 2008 at the Wayback Machine Prime Minister s Office News and Articles The Government of Iceland provides Glitnir with new equity 9 29 08 Hunter Michael Neil Dennis 2008 09 29 Heavy stock losses after Fed action The Financial Times Retrieved 2008 09 29 Politi James Krishna Guha Daniel Dombey Harvey Morris 2008 09 29 Central banks pump cash into system The Financial Times Retrieved 2008 09 29 U S stocks slide Dow plunges 777 points as bailout fails MarketWatch 2008 09 29 Retrieved 2008 09 29 Information from C Span September 29 2008 Hulse Carl David M Herszenhorn 2008 09 28 Bailout Plan in Hand House Braces for Tough Vote The New York Times Retrieved 2008 09 29 C Span 2 PM 9 30 08 Hulse Carl David M Herszenhorn 2008 09 29 House Rejects Bailout Package 228 205 But New Vote Is Planned Stocks Plunge The New York Times Retrieved 2008 09 29 Lanman Scott 2008 09 29 Fed Pumps Further 630 Billion Into Financial System Update3 Bloomberg Retrieved 2009 06 16 Grynbaum Michael M 2008 09 29 For Stocks Worst Single Day Drop in Two Decades The New York Times Retrieved 2008 09 29 Twin Alexandra 2008 09 29 Stocks crushed CNN Money Retrieved 2008 09 29 Smith Aaron 2008 09 29 Wondering which bank is next Analysts brace for more bank failures after Wachovia sells out banking assets to Citi bank stocks plunge after House rejects bailout bill CNN Money Retrieved 2008 09 29 Dash Eric 2008 09 29 With Wachovia Sale the Banking Crisis Trickles Up The New York Times Retrieved 2008 09 29 Guha Krishna Harvey Morris James Politi in Washington Paul J Davies 2008 09 30 Banking s crisis of confidence deepens The Financial Times Retrieved 2008 09 30 Daneshkhu Scheherazade Ben Hall 2008 09 30 Dexia receives 6 4bn capital injection The Financial Times Retrieved 2008 09 30 Government statement of the Government of Ireland The Irish Times 2008 10 01 Retrieved 2008 10 01 Gullapalli Diya and Anand Shefali Bailout of Money Funds Seems to Stanch Outflow The Wall Street Journal September 20 2008 Markewatch Article LIBOR Jumps to RecordFurther reading editStewart James B Eight Days the battle to save the American financial system The New Yorker magazine September 21 2009 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Global financial crisis in September 2008 amp oldid 1209902248, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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