The documentary Inside Job examines the 2008 financial crisis. It analyzes the changes in the financial industry that led to the crisis, including political moves toward deregulation. This allowed large risks to be taken and regulations to be circumvented. The crisis began with rampant lending and investing on Wall Street. Banks financed subprime mortgages and mortgage-backed securities became very profitable. However, the housing prices were inflated in a bubble that eventually burst in 2006-2007 when homeowners began defaulting on loans. Despite signs of growing risks, regulators refused to intervene and the financial system crisis ensued in 2008.
3. What was the film about?
• It's about the financial crisis of 2008.
It presents research and interviews
with financial, politicians, journalists
and academics. From the narrative
point of view, its structure has
several parts, dedicating his
introduction to Iceland's 2008-2009
financial crisis.
• The tape focuses on the changes in the
financial industry in recent decades that have
led to the crisis, the political movements
toward deregulation, and how the evolution of
financial fields complex as the derivatives
market allowed large increases in the adopted
financial risk, to allow to circumvent
regulations that were intended to control
systemic risk.
4. Why did the crisis start?
• On Wall Street, birthplace of the
economy, street where is the most
important center of economy and
Finance of the world, began new
investments, business and rampant
lending, with money earned through
investments, they paid the loans to
banks.
• But these entrepreneurs wanting to
continue winning an idea them
which consisted of purchasing
insurance against the mortgage
payments.
5. The bubble
• On Wall Street, annual bonuses
broke records. Brokers and
managers became very wealthy.
Lehman Brothers financed many
subprime loans and its manager,
Richard Fuld took home $ 485
million that year.
• It sold real financial profit that was
not really real. Through the
Household Property Law the Federal
Reserve could regulate the
mortgage industry. But Alan
Greenspan refused to use it.
6. The crisis
• In 2006, year of ultimate concession
of mortgages subprime, reaching
the Fed Chair Ben Bernanke. Despite
the alarming data, they decided to
take no action.
• The financial system was awash in high-risk
financial products. As everyone could
access buy a House as were granted
mortgages regardless of the risk, the
housing prices soared, following an
economic basic principle, if it increases
demand on a given well, increase the prices
of the same.