Banque de France Press Release: 2008 annual report of the Commission bancaire – “In 2008 the financial turmoil resulting from the subprime crisis intensified, leading many credit institutions, in particular in the United States, to make substantial write-downs and impairments. Consequently, confidence in the financial system was hit to the extent that the interbank market seized up, especially after the failure of the US investment bank Lehman Brothers in September. Against this backdrop, governments and central banks in France and abroad took unprecedented measures to support credit institution’s short- and medium-term refinancing and raise their capital levels. These actions, which were highly co-ordinated at the European level, created the conditions for banking systems to gradually return to normal functioning.”