Read the following texts and table with financial data from an S&P 500 earnings report carefully.Based on the question-answer history (if provided), answer the last question. The answer may require mathematical calculation based on the data provided.

Text: 18 . allowance for credit losses . <table class='wikitable'><tr><td>1</td><td>in millions of dollars</td><td>2009</td><td>2008 ( 1 )</td><td>2007 ( 1 )</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>allowance for loan losses at beginning of year</td><td>$ 29616</td><td>$ 16117</td><td>$ 8940</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>gross credit losses</td><td>-32784 ( 32784 )</td><td>-20760 ( 20760 )</td><td>-11864 ( 11864 )</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>gross recoveries</td><td>2043</td><td>1749</td><td>1938</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>net credit ( losses ) recoveries ( ncls )</td><td>$ -30741 ( 30741 )</td><td>$ -19011 ( 19011 )</td><td>$ -9926 ( 9926 )</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>ncls</td><td>$ 30741</td><td>$ 19011</td><td>$ 9926</td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>net reserve builds ( releases )</td><td>5741</td><td>11297</td><td>6550</td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>net specific reserve builds ( releases )</td><td>2278</td><td>3366</td><td>356</td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>total provision for credit losses</td><td>$ 38760</td><td>$ 33674</td><td>$ 16832</td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>other net ( 2 )</td><td>-1602 ( 1602 )</td><td>-1164 ( 1164 )</td><td>271</td></tr><tr><td>11</td><td>allowance for loan losses at end of year</td><td>$ 36033</td><td>$ 29616</td><td>$ 16117</td></tr><tr><td>12</td><td>allowance for credit losses on unfunded lending commitments at beginning of year ( 3 )</td><td>$ 887</td><td>$ 1250</td><td>$ 1100</td></tr><tr><td>13</td><td>provision for unfunded lending commitments</td><td>244</td><td>-363 ( 363 )</td><td>150</td></tr><tr><td>14</td><td>allowance for credit losses on unfunded lending commitments at end of year ( 3 )</td><td>$ 1157</td><td>$ 887</td><td>$ 1250</td></tr><tr><td>15</td><td>total allowance for loans leases and unfunded lending commitments</td><td>$ 37190</td><td>$ 30503</td><td>$ 17367</td></tr></table> ( 1 ) reclassified to conform to the current period 2019s presentation . ( 2 ) 2009 primarily includes reductions to the loan loss reserve of approximately $ 543 million related to securitizations , approximately $ 402 million related to the sale or transfers to held-for-sale of u.s . real estate lending loans , and $ 562 million related to the transfer of the u.k . cards portfolio to held-for-sale . 2008 primarily includes reductions to the loan loss reserve of approximately $ 800 million related to fx translation , $ 102 million related to securitizations , $ 244 million for the sale of the german retail banking operation , $ 156 million for the sale of citicapital , partially offset by additions of $ 106 million related to the cuscatl e1n and bank of overseas chinese acquisitions . 2007 primarily includes reductions to the loan loss reserve of $ 475 million related to securitizations and transfers to loans held-for-sale , and reductions of $ 83 million related to the transfer of the u.k . citifinancial portfolio to held-for-sale , offset by additions of $ 610 million related to the acquisitions of egg , nikko cordial , grupo cuscatl e1n and grupo financiero uno . ( 3 ) represents additional credit loss reserves for unfunded corporate lending commitments and letters of credit recorded in other liabilities on the consolidated balance sheet. .
Question: what was the change in the allowance for loan losses from 2008 to 2009?

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