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The US Government takes control of the two major mortgage-backing firms. US taxpayers are now financing the liability of more than $5 trillion in mortgages.
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As Wall Street fears the giant investment bank can't find a buyer, Lehman Brothers sees its stock drop 45%.
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Bank of America changes its mind on a deal to buy Lehman Brothers; offers $29 per sahre to buy Merrill Lynch.
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Unable to make deals with Bank of America or Barclays, Lehman Brothers runs out of options. In a record-setting move, the $639 billion Lehman Brothers bankruptcy filing is the largest filing in US history.
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After failing to negotiate terms for a pre-bankruptcy sale, British bank Barclays makes a deal to buy the North American operations of Lehman Brothers for $250 million.
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Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Paulson present a plan to Congress granting new administrative powers. The proposed plan could cost taxpayers billions which would be used to buy bad debt and mortgages from banks.
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After receiving approval from the Federal Reserve, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs become bank holding companies. Previously categorized as investment banks, these two giants are now able to use a special discount window offered by the Fed and gives greater federal oversight.
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Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Paulson appear again before Congress. They warn of far-reaching damage if the current financial conditions continue. The federal bailout package is again presented as the solution.
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John McCain and Barack Obama leave the campaign trail to meet with President Bush and other Congressional leaders. The topic: How to create a bailout plan that will sucessfully pass through Congress.
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Washington Mutual holdings compay becomes the largest thrift failure. JPMorgan announces plan to buy WaMu banking operations for $1.9 billion.
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With help from the FDIC, Citigroup agrees to a price of $2.1 billion in stock to buy most of Wachovia's banking operations.
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Several European banks are either placed under government control. Others are presented with large amounts of cash in order to prevent the same collapse seen in the US.
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A televised warning from President Bush is not enough to pass the $700 billion rescue bill through the House of Representatives. The bill falls 228-205.
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Following the bailout failure in the House, the Dow drops 777.68 points; the largest single day point drop in history. The S&P also sets the same record.
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The US Senate passes a revised version of the $700 billion bailout bill.
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The US House passes the bill previously passed by the Senate. President Bush signs the bill into law.
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Aiming to relieve the growing credit stress, short-term $900 billion in cash loans are made available to banks from the Federal Reserve.
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EU leaders in Paris agree to rescue plan. Loans between banks are guaranteed through the end of 2009, and no big instituion will be allowed to fail.
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As global rescue plans fall into place the Dow Jones sets a record for points gained in a single session by ending up 936 points. It was temporarily up as high as 976 points.
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Nine banks agree to the terms of receiving half of this money. These terms include the US government taking an equity position in exchange for restrictions such as executive compensation.
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The US Federal Reserve announces it will spend $540 billion to purchase short-term debt from money market mutual funds. This government is hoping the injection will help unfreeze the credit markets making it easier for businesses and banks to obtain loans.
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The benchmark interest rate was dropped half a percentage point to 1%. Goal is to prevent prolonged recession.
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Nearly 400,000 borrowers who are behind or soon could be behind on mortage payments will receive restructured mortgages with more affordable terms.
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In order to help finance its bank rescue program, the US Treasury plans to sell $55 billion in bonds. The auction will feature a new type of bond, coined a "bail-out" bond.
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Treasury Secretary Paulson announced that the $700 billion bailout plan will now include non-bank financial institutions, such as credit cards and auto loans. Bailout money will not be used to buy bad morgage debt, as was orignally outlined in the plan. The Dow lost 411 points on the day.
