Two part paper about the recent financial crisis and Hyman Minsky's theories

In 2007, a number of leading European and U.S. banks were severely impacted by the collapse of mortgage-backed instruments that were mainly a by-product of their packaging. To the dismay of financial institutions, these toxic assets comprised a major portion of the banks asset base. The high demand in the housing market was triggered by historically low (many would argue below equilibrium) interest rates. This artificial demand led to a bubble in the housing sector that subsequently burst once the Fed raised interest rates, paving the way for a series of delinquencies. Buoyed by the booming housing market, banks granted loans to subprime borrowers who under normal conditions, would have been rejected. With the rise in interest rates, these subprime borrowers failed to pay back on their