Subprime Crisis: Causes & Consequences

Abstract

The 2007-2009 financial crisis, considered the worst crisis in human history since the Great Depression of the 1930s was not expected to end the period of the Great Moderation when financial and economic stability lasted from the mid-1980s to 2007. Although more than a decade has passed since the crisis, the analysis of the causes and consequences of the 2007-2009 financial crisis remains relevant for today's global economy, which is affected by both COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine. The crisis came as a surprise to almost everyone, but its roots were already in the U.S. financial system a decade ago. The explosion of the housing market in the United States at the beginning of the 21st century attracted a large number of banks and financial institutions to invest. The immediate cause of the financial crisis was the Federal Reserve's monetary policy, inflation in subprime mortgages, and the abuse of credit default swaps. The financial crisis also triggered a large number of banks to go bankrupt due to insolvency or default, and after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the US government had to use a large number of emergency funds to bail out the market. These bailouts largely saved these too-big-to-fail companies and had no significant effect on the years of high unemployment.