Subprime mortgage crisis/Timelines

Sources

In addition to the sources that can be reached using the internet links shown thus [99], this timeline draws upon otherwise unpublished information obtained by interview and published in Fools Gold by Gillian Tett (see the bibliography subpage). Numbers shown thus {123} are the relevant page numbers in that book.

The 1980s

Financial deregulation [1], [2].

Savings and Loans crisis - Failure of 296 US "Savings and Loans" mortgage lenders [3]

1990 - 2003

Progressive discount rate cuts by Federal Reserve (reducing the federal funds rate from from 8 per cent in 1990 to 1 per cent in 2003 [4].

Housing boom begins (8% price increase 2002 to 2003)

1999

Fannie Mae eases credit terms for subprime mortgages [5]

2002

President sets target for expanding minority home-owning [6].

2003 - 2007

The Federal Reserve makes a series of discount rate increases(from 0.75% to 6.25% in 2006).

2001 to Q3 2006 A US housing boom in which the average price rises by 80% [7] .

Q3 2006 to Q2 2007 US house prices fall to 8% below 2006 peak ()[8].

US mortgage foreclosures surge [9] [10].

The values of bank assets suffer large reductions (including the assets of the Bank of America and Citigroup banks in the US, the Barclays and HSBC banks in the UK, the BNP Paribas bank in France, and Credit Suisse bank in Switzerland.

2007

June

25 Two of the Bear Stearns bank's hedge funds are threatened by losses from mortgage defaults [11].

August

6 American Home Mortgage becomes bankrupt [12].

9 French bank BNP Paribas freezes some of its funds because it is unable to value its US mortgage-backed assets. [13]

'For further developments see the crash of 2008 timelines