2008: Year in Review
Recession’s resultant banking bust, stock market freefall and massive job losses grabbed headlines
Orlando Business Journal - by Christopher Boyd
Friday, December 19, 2008
Not since the Great Depression have banks been as embattled as this year, when dicey mortgage loans went into default, real estate values plunged and lenders’ balance sheets suffered the consequences.
Washington Mutual and Wachovia Bank, both with many Central Florida branches, were among the institutions forced to sell to healthier lenders as the damage spread. And the U.S. Treasury Department moved to infuse banks with cash through a stock-purchase plan.
In addition, unregulated stock brokerages all but disappeared this year amid the financial sector meltdown. National brokerages with a large local presence including Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs were among those that ran for cover, either joining traditional banks or seeking charters for themselves. One, Lehman Brothers, collapsed...
Did they miss anything?
