Then Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson looks over at his colleagues including then Fed Chair Ben Bernanke and then NY Fed President Tim Geithner.
Businesses went down. Workers lost jobs. And Americans were losing hope, which only made things worse.
For many, the critical low moment Lehman Brothers bankruptcy on September 15, 2008. But the memory of critical events before and after that day is slowly fading.
Business Insider outlined the major moments from 2007 to 2009. From the initial reports of subprime defaults to the collapse of Lehman Brothers to AIG's second bailout, here are the 27 scariest moments of the financial crisis.
Note: Former Business Insider reporter Steven Perlberg contributed to this feature.