Top 10 Financial Crisis Documentaries

The global financial crisis of 2008/9 has left a significant economic dent, with the global economy slow to rebound, and with a banking crisis transitioning to a sovereign debt crisis in some countries. Indeed many people have felt the impact on their own balance sheets; with house prices and stock prices well off their highs, and in some cases with fixed income assets wiped out. The crisis is sure to leave a lasting psychological impact on all who were touched by it. But of course, with great challenge comes great opportunity, and one of the opportunities is for learning. So after watching a series of crisis related documentaries, I present here what I think are among the top 10 financial crisis documentaries.

1. The Fall of Lehman Brothers
   To me the very title of this documentary was one of the defining moments of the financial crisis. What was previously unthinkable became reality, and at this moment I believe the greatest shock-wave was sent out across the global financial markets. So if there's any documentary on the financial crisis to watch, I think this one tops the list.
2. America's Bankrupt Banks (Inside the Meltdown)
   And of course, before there was Lehman's there was Bear Stearns. Bear Stearns was much closer to the sub-prime crisis and played the game in such a way that it was first to bear the full brunt of the collapse in the housing market. This documentary focuses on the collapse of Bear Stearns.
3. Meltdown
   The 4-part documentary from Al Jazeera released this year is one of the most talked about documentaries on the financial crisis. Meltdown takes you through all of the facets of the crisis, but places a particular emphasis on the human impact, and reviews some of the civil unrest that grew out of the discontent that the crisis left behind.
4. How the Banks Never Lose
   This one takes you over the other side of the ocean to get a glimpse at the conditions that led up to the banking crisis in the UK, where a similar story was unfolding alongside the US banking crisis.
5. The Boom & Bust Years (The Age of Risk)
   This BBC documentary provides more background on the activity and conditions that lead to the crisis. Of course we are blessed with hindsight, but looking back it is at once appalling, mystifying, and embarrassing what was going on, and it seems to leave little wonder that a crisis was the logical conclusion.
6. Breaking the Bank
   We've got Lehman's and Bear Stearns on the list here, but another key bank (which actually survived)  that played a pivotal role through the crisis was Bank of America. This documentary follows the actions of Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis, and the events that went on at the Treasury that prevented the collapse of the entire banking system.
7. Maxed Out: Hard Times, Easy Credit and the Era of Predatory Lenders
   The list would be incomplete without a close look at consumer credit. The core cause of the crisis was really an unsustainable explosion in the growth of debt and credit. For a time debt was super cheap and super easy to get, so of course asset prices were sent to unsustainable levels, unsustainable industries were propped up, and people borrowed well beyond their means. Of course, because of this the recovery from this crisis has and will continue to be hard because people (and governments) still need to get back to more sustainable levels of borrowing.
8. Debtocracy
   The last 3 documentaries on this list are not about the 2008 crisis, but are well worth a look for additional context. This one in particular talks about the Greek debt crisis that has precipitated in the wake of the financial crisis, and which has caused considerable contagion and escalation of economic distress in Europe, and much more water has yet to pass under the bridge.
9. Prisoners of Debt: Inside the Global Banking Crisis
   This is not about the banking crisis of 2008, no this is about the 1980's third world debt crisis. It bears stark resemblance to today's banking, and of course Sovereign debt crises. I'm sure most people who watch this documentary will think "why didn't we learn?" 
10. The Crash of 1929
    Like number 9, this is not about the 2008/9 crash, but many people have drawn parallels to the great depression and the crash of 1929 with today's crisis. So to be able to participate in the debate it is well worth taking a look into what went on all the way back then. But also, in terms of the scale of the crisis and the impact, the 1929 crash is the closest comparison to the 2008 crash.

Thanks to www.financedocumentaries.com for finding all these documentaries (and others!)

Crisis Cycles - Banking Question

Just a quick post. I happened to watch a documentary the other day on a banking crisis.

In essence the banks had gotten too greedy, had a lapse in controls and governance, faced attractive incentives to lend (and credit conditions were very loose).

In addition, a promising new market of customers had a voracious appetite to borrow, and lapped up all the easy credit offered by the banks.

But then the lending boom began to unwind, as borrowers came under pressure from heavy debt loads.

Large amounts of defaults ensued and the very survival of the banking system came into question.

The turn of events highlighted the fragility of the banking system, and the perils of a lack of controls, particularly in an environment of easy credit; and spurred resolve to implement regulatory change to solve the problems and fix the system, and guard against future bubbles and crises.

Fascinating stuff, but what am I talking about? Time for a quiz! Select from the options below of what banking crisis I'm talking about:

1. The 2007 subprime mortgage crisis
2. The 2008-9 global financial crisis
3. The 1997 Asian financial crisis
4. The US savings and loan crisis
5. The 1980's Third world debt crisis
6. Other?

If you can't guess, watch the documentary here: banking crisis

Welcome to the Muddle Ages of the Recovery

Before diving into the analysis, a theme occurred to me the other day; more and more the economic data from the US is looking confused. There are some parts of the economy that are showing some relatively promising signs e.g. manufacturing, but then there are other parts (e.g. consumers, housing, etc) which say - "you know, this recovery... it's not that great, things are still hard!" And thus we are at the muddle ages of the post-great-recession recovery. And so, I was just looking at the US total bank assets statistics, and there were a few noteworthy standouts in the data:


The first chart is in someways an acknowledgment that there are a few bright patches in the US economy at present. Commercial and Industrial lending is one of the most cyclically sensitive sectors of lending, if you track it over a longer time period on a year on year percentage basis it shows a fairly persistent cyclical ebb and flow. Not to be calling the all clear, but the turning of the (still negative) year on year % change, and pick up in new lending in C&I loans is certainly an interesting data point in the context of my previous comments.


And that's the good part over, you can stop reading now if you're a blind optimist. The above chart is monthly consumer lending, with monthly percent change vs year on year percent change. It's tempting to call a turn on this one by looking at the course of the year on year percent change. But if you look beyond the data and think about what's going on, it's hard to make a case for any credible short term strength in this lending category.


In what is in some ways the antithesis of consumer lending, the US personal savings rate has reversed its decades long downward trend, which for the long term is a good thing. It is things like this that will help bring the coming of the economic renaissance (eventually)... if it can be sustained. But of course a sustained higher personal savings rate will also mean more consolidation of consumer lending, and lackluster short-term consumer spending (and then there's the government sector side of the savings coin...).


Oh and before we finish, real estate lending has continued its downward spiral and with the US housing market going no where fast, personal savings rates on the rise, unemployment still at highs, and consumer confidence still in the doldrums... it's like; "hmm, where to next on the real estate lending front?" It's hard to see any strong near-term drivers of a reversal in this sector; this is where the consolidation really needs to take place, not that there's really a choice. So, once again; welcome to the muddle ages.

Sources
Econ Grapher www.econgrapher.com
US Federal Reserve www.federalreserve.gov

Article source: http://www.econgrapher.com/18aug-muddleages.html