Beginning in 2008, Jefferies took advantage of the dislocation created during the credit crisis to enter several new business segments, including mortgage-backed securities and municipal bonds. On June 17, 2009, after several primary dealers, including Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, and Merrill Lynch, either collapsed or were acquired by other firms, Jefferies was named one of just 17 primary dealers participating in the New York Fed's open-market buying and selling of securities and Treasury auctions and providing market information to the New York Fed.