National Archives Opens Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission Records

Exactly what caused the financial crisis?

In 2011, the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission submitted a report that concluded “widespread failures in financial regulation and supervision” ended up hurting the strength and stability of U.S. financial markets.

Despite being released six months after it was passed, the Commission’s work reflects the thinking that led to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which established post-financial crisis regulation such as the clearing requirement for over-the-counter derivatives and the  establishment of swap execution facilities.

We now have a chance to understand just what went into the Commission’s thinking.

Five years after the Committee finalized the report, the National Archives released background information that formed its thesis on the causes of financial crisis. The documents describe the mentality and actions of individuals like Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and key financial executives in the years leading up to the crisis and while it was occurring.

A team of reporters from The Wall Street Journal provided commentary as they dug through this document release. Their insights can be accessed here.