2. Why the Package? Financial Markets Before and After the Crisis

The chapter provides an overview of the salient features of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), which may be seen as a fundamental cut-off point in the legislation of markets, both in the USA and the European Union. The trouble interrupted a trend of apparent long-term growth, rapidly spreading negative spill-overs onto the so-called “real” economy. When the GFC broke out, new instruments and activities had arisen; new subjects had entered the investment industry; and regulators were desperately trying to keep on track with technology-driven financial innovation. Supervisors have powerfully intervened to halt the crisis: in particular, they have addressed some structural issues in finance (lack of transparency, insufficient protection afforded to investors, etc.). As a result, the business models of several intermediaries have been disrupted. The chapter discusses the main macro-financial characteristics of the years usually labelled as Great Moderation (GM): ‘easy credit’ practices, liquidity created by means of assets furtherly revealed to be illiquid, and a loose monetary policy fuelling the other two phenomena. Then, it analyses the propagation of the GFC, with a focus on credit institutions and the threats (e.g., shadow banking) that traditional players have been facing over recent years.