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published on September 13, 2018 - 12:42 PM
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(AP) — The financial crisis touched off the worst recession since the 1930s Great Depression, wiping out $11 trillion in U.S. household wealth and leaving about 8 million Americans jobless. Taxpayers funded multibillion-dollar bailouts of Wall Street mega-banks, smaller banks across the country and other financial firms.

Ten years later, the economy’s recovery has been steady but lackluster, especially for less-than-affluent Americans. As a whole, though, the financial system and the economy are far stronger than they were in the perilous autumn of 2008 when the meltdown struck.

Some indicators:

NUMBER OF BANKS IN U.S.:
September 2008: 8,384
June 2018 (most recent available data): 5,542
Regulators seized and closed 521 failed banks from 2008 through now, with the bulk of closures from 2008 through 2013. The peak was in 2010. That year, regulators took over 157 banks, the most in any year since the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s and 90s.

From 2008 through now, there have been 2,492 bank mergers.

PRIME INTEREST RATE:
September 2008: 5 percent
September 2018: 5 percent

AVERAGE 30-YEAR MORTGAGE RATE:
September 2008: 6 percent
September 2018: 4.5 percent

NUMBER OF PERSONAL BANKRUPTCIES FILED:
September 2008: 88,663
August 2018 (most recent available data): 65,335

U.S. HOMEOWNERSHIP RATE:
Third quarter of 2008: 68 percent
Second quarter of 2018: 64 percent

MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME:
2008: $58,000
2017 (most recent available data): $61,372

HOMES IN FORECLOSURE:
September 2008: 81,312
July 2018 (latest available): around 60,000

Sources: Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Federal Reserve, Freddie Mac, Administrative Office of U.S. Courts, U.S. Census Bureau, RealtyTrac.


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