Jan 22, 2018

01/22/2018: Looking back at how the Fed handled the financial crisis

Stephen Chernin/Getty Images

(U.S. Edition) Now that the federal government has been shut down, some federal agencies have furloughed workers. With over half of the staff at the Centers for Disease Control deemed "nonessential," we'll look at some of the tasks that may go unmanaged. Afterwards, we'll talk to Yale professor Andrew Metrick about whether the Federal Reserve could have handled the financial crisis better — a conversation that's part of our new project Divided Decade. In the series, we'll explore how the financial crisis and its aftermath changed America.

Segments From this episode

Divided Decade

Could the Federal Reserve have prevented the financial crisis?

by David Brancaccio and Katie Long

Jan 22, 2018

A look at what the Fed was doing — and wasn't — before the crisis hit the headlines and your bank account.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange January 22, 2008 in New York City. The Federal Reserve, in reaction to a severe downturn in worldwide stock markets and concern about a United States recession, reduced its interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point before the opening NYSC bell.

Stephen Chernin/Getty Images

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Divided Decade

Sinking markets, emergency meetings: A Fed governor recalls 2008

by David Brancaccio and Katie Long

Jan 22, 2018

For Randall Kroszner, 2008 was all about doing the exact opposite of what the Fed did in the 1930s.

Randall Kroszner of the Federal Reserve System Board of Governors (R) testifies before the House Financial Services Committee along with Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chairman Sheila Bair on Capitol Hill Dec. 6, 2007 in Washington, D.C. The committee held the hearing about accelerating loan modifications, improving foreclosure prevention and enhancing enforcement in an effort to stem damage from the subprime mortgage crisis.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

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(U.S. Edition) Now that the federal government has been shut down, some federal agencies have furloughed workers. With over half of the staff at the Centers for Disease Control deemed “nonessential,” we’ll look at some of the tasks that may go unmanaged. Afterwards, we’ll talk to Yale professor Andrew Metrick about whether the Federal Reserve could have handled the financial crisis better — a conversation that’s part of our new project Divided Decade. In the series, we’ll explore how the financial crisis and its aftermath changed America.