E-Paper
Chronology: From Bear to WaMu, credit crunch victims pile up
Following are some of the key events in the biggest financial industry crisis since the Great Depression.
Following are some of the key events in the biggest financial industry crisis since the Great Depression.
* Jan 11, 2008: Bank of America pays $4 billion for Countrywide Financial after the mortgage lender goes bust when risky loans to shaky borrowers fail.
* Jan 30: UBS announces $4 billion new write-downs, taking total subprime-related writedowns to $18.4 billion.
* Feb 17: UK's Northern Rock nationalised after funding crisis.
* March 16/17: Bear Stearns sold to US investment bank JP Morgan Chase for about $2 a share.
* July 13: US Treasury and Federal Reserve effectively nationalise mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in a bid to support US housing market.
* Sept 15: Wall Street's worst day since markets reopened after the September 2001 attacks; Lehman Brothers in largest US bankruptcy; Merrill Lynch taken over by Bank of America; American International Group, once the world's top insurer, scrambles for capital because of losses on its mortgage-related debt.
* Sept 16: Central banks pump billions of dollars into money markets in a bid to ease tensions and prevent global financial system from freezing: AIG shares almost halve. Fed announces plan for $85 billion AIG rescue loan in return for 80 percent stake; Britain's Barclays buys parts of Lehman's North American assets for $1.75 billion.
* Sept 17: Shares in Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley fall sharply; Britain's Lloyds TSB buys rival HBOS US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) curbs short-selling.
* Sept 19: World stock markets soar on US plans to buy up so-called toxic assets, helping cleanse the financial system.
* Sept 20-21: Details emerge of US plan for $700 billion bailout for firms burdened by bad mortgage debt; Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley transformed into bank holding companies, ending Wall Street's investment banking model.
* Sept 22: Japan's Nomura Holdings buys Lehman's Asia operations for up to $525 million. Later, Nomura pays a nominal sum for Lehman's Europe and Middle East operations; Mitsubishi UFJ Financial agrees to buy up to 20 percent of Morgan Stanley for $8.5 billion.
* Sept 23: Warren Buffett pays $5 billion for up to 9 percent of Goldman Sachs; FBI probes Fannie, Freddie, AIG and Lehman for potential mortgage fraud.
* Sept 24: In nationwide broadcast, US President George W. Bush warns that financial system at risk of shutting down. Urges agreement on $700 billion bailout.
* Sept 25: Biggest US bank failure as authorities close Washington Mutual and sell parts to JPMorgan Chase for $1.9 billion.
