The Savings & Loan Crisis: Full Timeline (1980s-1990s)
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Early 1980s: Deregulation
Legislation in the early 1980s loosened restrictions on savings and loan institutions ("thrifts"), allowing them to make riskier loans and investments beyond their traditional home-mortgage focus.
Mid-to-Late 1980s: Risky Lending Spreads
Many thrifts pursued high-risk commercial real estate lending and other speculative investments, while some engaged in fraud or reckless management, leaving them badly exposed when the commercial real estate market softened.
Late 1980s: Failures Mount
Hundreds of savings and loan institutions failed, straining the deposit insurance system built to cover them.
1989: The Cleanup Begins
Congress passed the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act (FIRREA) in 1989, creating the Resolution Trust Corporation to manage and dispose of failed thrifts' assets.
Aftermath
The crisis ultimately cost taxpayers tens of billions of dollars and led to significant reform of thrift industry regulation and deposit insurance oversight.