How the Banks Were Taken Over by the Government: Planet Money : NPR

Karen Blair/AFP via Getty Images

Karen Blair/AFP via Getty Images

Earlier this month, we witnessed the largest bank failure since the financial crisis of 2008. For many of us, the failure of Silicon Valley Bank brought back memories of 15 years earlier, when what would become the Great Recession began.

In early 2009, one or two banks were failing every week. Planet Money reporter Chana Joffe-Walt walked into one of those banks: Clark County Bank in Washington state. Her coverage of the inner workings of bank failures and government takeovers helped explain exactly what happens minute by minute when a bank fails.

This story originally ran in March 2009 American Lifefrom WBEZ Chicago. This is the first time we’ve ever aired it in its entirety on the podcast.

This version of the story was produced by Dylan Sloan and edited by Dave Blanchard. Sierra Juarez was responsible for fact-checking and Katherine Silva was responsible for design. Jess Jiang is the acting executive producer of Planet Money.

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