Historical eventSeptember 142007

2008 financial crisis

Late-2000s financial crisis: The Northern Rock bank received a liquidity support facility from the Bank of England, sparking a bank run—the United Kingdom's first in 150 years.

Everything on September 14Original source

In context

When
Friday, September 14 200719 years ago
Category
Historical eventA dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Era
21st century · 2000s
Recorded from
Wikipedia “On this day” feed

At a glance

Dates: From 2007.

What came beforeAI-assisted

The Federal Reserve maintained historically low interest rates from 2003 onward, following the 2001 recession and dot-com bubble collapse. This monetary policy, combined with government policies promoting homeownership, fueled unprecedented demand for housing and rapid price appreciation.

Financial institutions developed complex mortgage-backed securities and derivatives that obscured risk and spread subprime mortgages throughout the global financial system. Lenders increasingly offered subprime mortgages to borrowers with poor credit, often with adjustable rates and minimal documentation requirements.

Catalyst / how it startedAI-assisted

Housing prices peaked in 2006 and began declining in 2007, causing adjustable-rate mortgages to reset at higher rates. Homeowners with negative equity and rising payments began defaulting en masse, triggering the subprime mortgage crisis in early 2007.

As mortgage defaults accelerated, mortgage-backed securities held by banks and investment firms worldwide rapidly lost value. The collapse of these assets exposed the fragility of major financial institutions and triggered a broader credit crisis.

Who was involvedAI-assisted

Major investment banks including Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, and Merrill Lynch faced collapse or forced sales. The Federal Reserve, U.S. Treasury Department, and international central banks coordinated emergency interventions and bailouts.

Government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which guaranteed or owned half of U.S. mortgages, required federal takeover in September 2008. Mortgage lenders, rating agencies, and regulators all played roles in enabling the crisis.

TimelineAI-assisted

Early 2007: Subprime mortgage crisis begins as defaults accelerate. August 2007: Credit markets freeze as banks lose confidence in mortgage-backed securities.

March 2008: Bear Stearns collapses; Federal Reserve arranges emergency sale to JPMorgan Chase. September 7, 2008: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac placed into federal conservatorship. September 15, 2008: Lehman Brothers files for bankruptcy, triggering global financial panic.

What happened

A major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States took place in 2008. The causes included excessive speculation on property values by both homeowners and financial institutions, leading to the 2000s United States housing bubble. This was exacerbated by predatory lending for subprime mortgages and by deficiencies in regulation. Austrian school economists attributed the crisis primarily to the Federal Reserve's ("Fed") prolonged policy of artificially low interest rates,

September 14 through the years

Other entries on the same calendar day, in order.

  1. 2001Washington National Cathedral
  2. 2002Total Linhas Aéreas Flight 5561
  3. 2003Kumba Yala
  4. 20032003 Estonian European Union membership referendum
  5. 20072008 financial crisis
  6. 2008Aeroflot Flight 821
  7. 2015LIGO
  8. 2015First observation of gravitational waves
  9. 2019Yemen
  10. 2019Abqaiq–Khurais attack
  11. 2022Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II

Also in 2007

  • September 11Conventional weaponRussia tests the largest conventional weapon ever, the Father of All Bombs.
  • March 14Nandigram violenceThe Nandigram violence in Nandigram, West Bengal, results in the deaths of at least 14 people.
  • September 12Joseph EstradaFormer Philippine President Joseph Estrada is convicted of plunder.
  • September 122007 Bengkulu earthquakesTwo earthquakes measuring 8.4 and 7.9 on the Richter Scale hits the Indonesian island of Sumatra, killing 25 people and injuring 161.
  • September 13Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous PeoplesThe Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is adopted by the United Nations General Assembly.
  • September 13McLarenThe McLaren F1 team are found guilty of possessing confidential information from the Ferrari team, fined $100 million, and excluded from…
  • September 16Nisour Square massacreSeventeen Iraqi civilians were shot and killed by Academi guards in Baghdad.
  • September 16One-Two-Go Airlines Flight 269One-Two-Go Airlines Flight 269 crashed after attempting a poorly executed go-around while landing in Thailand, killing 90 of the 130 peop…

Everything we record for 2007 →

Sources

Cite this page

“2008 financial crisis”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/event/2008-financial-crisis-2007-september-14, accessed October 27, 2026.

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Questions about this entry

When did 2008 financial crisis happen?

September 14 2007 — 19 years ago, on a Friday.

Where does this text come from?

Wikipedia “On this day” feed. Summaries are short adaptations that link back to the source, not reprints. Panels marked AI-assisted were filled where the sources left a heading empty.

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