ABSTRACT
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged more than 50 percent to 6,594, losing 2,000 points in September 2008 alone. The stock market losses, combined with declining home values, caused American household net worth to decline almost 25 percent between the second quarter of 2007 and the first quarter of 2009. Falling home prices and rising default rates eroded the value of mortgage-backed securities. The law created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to oversee consumer lending transactions ranging from debit and credit card fees to home loan applications. Taylor, Bean & Whitaker chairman Lee Farkas was the only high ranking bank executive to receive a lengthy prison sentence for his role in the financial crisis. Although the financial crisis began with the decline of US housing prices, the damage was not limited to the real estate industry, the home loan industry, or even the United States.
