Henry Paulson

Paulson Authorizes AIG Bailout Benefiting Goldman Sachs

2008-09-19 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 9/10

The U.S. government authorized an $85 billion bailout of American International Group (AIG), with Goldman Sachs receiving $12.9 billion—the largest individual payout. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, a former Goldman Sachs CEO, played a central role in the decision, despite significant conflicts of …

Henry Paulson Lloyd Blankfein Don Jester financial-capture bailout wall-street regulatory-failure banking-crisis

Federal Reserve Provides $85 Billion Emergency Loan to AIG, Eventually Growing to $182 Billion in Total Taxpayer Commitments to Bail Out Insurance Giant That Gambled on Credit Default Swaps, Followed by $165 Million in Executive Bonuses Paid to Employees Who Caused the Crisis

2008-09-16 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 10/10

On September 16, 2008, just one day after allowing Lehman Brothers to file for bankruptcy, the Federal Reserve provided an $85 billion two-year emergency loan to American International Group (AIG) to prevent the insurance giant’s collapse and contain spreading financial contagion. In exchange …

American International Group Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke Timothy Geithner Henry Paulson +2 more financial-crisis bailout too-big-to-fail regulatory-capture executive-compensation +1 more

Lehman Brothers Files Largest Bankruptcy in U.S. History with $639 Billion in Assets After Government Refuses Bailout, Creating Arbitrary 'Too Big to Fail' Enforcement Where Bear Stearns and AIG Were Rescued But Lehman Was Allowed to Collapse, Triggering Global Financial Panic

2008-09-15 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 10/10

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on September 15, 2008, declaring $639 billion in assets and $613 billion in debts, making it the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history. The firm’s assets far surpassed those of previous bankrupt giants including …

Lehman Brothers Richard Fuld Henry Paulson Ben Bernanke Timothy Geithner +2 more financial-crisis too-big-to-fail regulatory-capture accountability-crisis market-manipulation

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Placed in Federal Conservatorship, $187 Billion Taxpayer Bailout

2008-09-07 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 9/10

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announces that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored enterprises backing $5 trillion in home mortgages, will be placed into conservatorship under the newly created Federal Housing Finance Agency. The seizure represents the largest government …

Treasury Department Henry Paulson Federal Housing Finance Agency Fannie Mae Freddie Mac +2 more housing-crisis bailout gse-failure taxpayer-cost housing

Bear Stearns Collapse and Federal Reserve-Facilitated Fire Sale to JPMorgan with $29 Billion Taxpayer Guarantee Establishes 'Too Big to Fail' Precedent with Zero Criminal Prosecutions Despite Fraud-Driven Collapse

2008-03-16 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 10/10

Bear Stearns, the fifth-largest investment bank in the United States with $400 billion in reported consolidated assets, collapsed in March 2008 after its liquidity pool plummeted from $18.1 billion on March 10 to just $2 billion on March 13. The firm had leveraged its capital up to 35 …

Bear Stearns JPMorgan Chase Federal Reserve Bank of New York Ben Bernanke Timothy Geithner +2 more financial-crisis regulatory-capture too-big-to-fail bailout accountability-crisis