De markt voor interbancaire leningen was stilgevallen, huiseigenaren konden hun hypotheekaflossing niet meer betalen, zakenbank Bear Stearns was omgevallen, het Amerikaanse ministerie van Financiën was tussenbeide gekomen om de semi-overheidsbanken Freddie Mac en Fannie Mae van de ondergang te redden, en zakenbank Lehman Brothers had faillissement aangevraagd.
The interbank market had seized up, homeowners were defaulting on their mortgages, Bear Stearns had collapsed, the US Treasury had intervened to rein in Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, and, above all, Lehman Brothers had declared bankruptcy.