the financial crisis in the u.s. in 2009 was triggered by
a complex interplay of policies that encouraged home ownership , providing easier access to loans for subprime borrowers ; overvaluation of bundled subprime mortgages based on the theory that housing prices would continue to escalate ; questionable trading practices on behalf of both buyers and sellers ; compensation structures that prioritize short - term deal flow over long - term value creation ; and a lack of adequate capital holdings from banks and insurance companies to back the financial commitments they were making