The State Library recently received the federal document The Financial Crisis Inquiry Report: Final Report of the National Commission on the Causes of the Financial and Economic Crisis in the United States. More than two years after the crisis began, Americans are experiencing the aftershocks. People have lost their jobs. Many have lost their homes, and the economy is struggling to rebound. This report is intended to provide a historical accounting of the events and to help policy makers and the public to see how the calamity came into being.The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission was established as part of the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act (Public Law 111-21). According to the preface, the Commission was created to "examine the causes of the current financial and economic crisis in the United States" and to publish their conclusions.
The publication covers topics such as subprime lending, shadow lending, credit expansion, the mortgage machine and the bust. It also explains how the financial system worked, how the pieces fit together and how the crisis occurred. The financial institutions that played a part are discussed. The institutions include American International Group (AIG), Bear Stearns, Citigroup, Countrywide Financial, Fannie Mae, Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Moody's and Wachovia.
The report can also be found at this web address: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/GPO-FCIC/pdf/GPO-FCIC.pdf
Naomi Allen
Assistant Government Documents Librarian
