A stable financial system is an important component of an efficient market. Ensuring financial stability allows markets to allocate resources, assess and manage financial risk, and maintain employment levels close to the natural rate. When a bank has failed, the FDIC works to ensure that there are no major disruptions of financial transactions and that economic agents can continue to operate with confidence. With a strong market, the FDIC doesn’t need to intervene often, but the agency was very active during the Great Recession when a lot of banks failed. When a bank failure does occur, the FDIC works to transfer assets of one bank to an acquiring bank or they will take on those assets themselves until the find a suitable acquirer.
South Park — Margarita Securities
Stan tries to return his dad’s Margarittaville machine so that his family can have a bit more money during the recession. Turns out that his dad bought it on a finance plan, which has been repackaged and sold to investors. Similar to mortgage-backed securities, loans can be issued for assets and then re-packaged to spread out risk among risky investments. If you’re looking for an easy way to teach about the MBS crisis, this scene does a great job condensing the major components.
Thanks to Zoe Cook-Nadel for the suggestion!
Brooklyn 99 — Liquidity Concerns
Jakes owes everyone on the squad a lot of money and he starts by paying back Terry. Initially, Jake tries to buy something from a vending machine by giving it a $2.50 coupon because he believes that’s worth what’s printed on the money. When he tries to borrow money from Terry, the Sergeant decides to cut him off because he’s borrowed too much money. Based on the interactions of the squad and Jake, he has a fairly high leverage ratio. When Jake decides to start pay back Terry, he starts by emptying his bank account since that’s the most liquid of his assets.