Which 2008 global financial crisis was triggered in part by the collapse of the U.S. housing bubble?

The 2008 global financial crisis was triggered in part by the collapse of the U.S. housing bubble.

During the preceding housing boom, U.S. lenders issued large volumes of mortgages, including many to borrowers with weak credit histories. These loans were often packaged into mortgage-backed securities and more complex structured products. When house prices stopped rising and mortgage defaults increased, the values of those securities became difficult to assess.

Financial institutions faced losses, funding shortages, and declining confidence. The failure of Lehman Brothers on September 15, 2008, intensified the panic, while governments and central banks introduced emergency lending, guarantees, capital injections, and stimulus measures.

The crisis spread worldwide because banks and investors were connected through global markets. It produced a deep recession, major increases in public debt, and extensive regulatory changes. The housing collapse was a crucial trigger, but the crisis also reflected excessive leverage, weak underwriting, complex securitization, and inadequate risk management. It is therefore broader than the U.S. subprime-mortgage crisis, which describes one important part of the chain of events.