-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The credit crisis has transformed the global financial landscape , bankrupting established names and prompting unprecedented interventions by governments and central banks to save others from collapse as they buckle under the weight of `` toxic debts . '' This timeline charts the key moments in that process . 2007 Feb. 7 : HSBC announces losses linked to U.S. subprime mortgages . May 17 : Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said growing number of mortgage defaults will not seriously harm the U.S. economy . A trader at the New York stock exchange reacts to the fall of global stock markets June : Two Bear Stearns-run hedge funds with large holdings of subprime mortgages run into large losses and are forced to dump assets . The trouble spreads to major Wall Street firms such as Merrill Lynch , JPMorgan Chase , Citigroup and Goldman Sachs which had loaned the firms money . Aug. : French bank BNP Paribas freezes withdrawals in three investment funds . Sept. : Crisis-hit UK bank Northern Rock admits financial difficulties as it asks Bank of England for assistance . Share prices fall as customers queue up to withdraw their money . Oct. 1 : Swiss bank UBS announces losses liked to U.S. subprime mortgages . Oct. 5 : Investment bank Merrill Lynch reports losses of $ 5.5 billion . Oct. 15 : Cititgroup announces $ 6.5 billion third quarter losses . Oct. 24 : Merrill Lynch announces losses to be over $ 8 billion . 2008 Jan : Swiss bank UBS announces fourth quarter losses at $ 14 billion . Jan. 11 : Bank of America pays $ 4 billion for Countryside Financial . Jan. 15 : Citigroup reports $ 18.1 billion loss in fourth quarter . Jan. 17 : Merrill Lynch reports $ 11.5 billion loss in fourth quarter . Washington Mutual posts losses . Feb. 13 : UK bank Northern Rock is nationalized . March : UK hedge fund Peloton Partners and U.S. fund Carlyle Capital fail . March 16 : Bear Stearns , the U.S. 's fifth largest investment bank , collapses and is taken over by JP Morgan . April 1 : German Deutsche Bank credit losses of $ 3.9 billion in first quarter . April 13 : U.S. bank Wachovia Corp. reports big loss for quarter . May 12 : HSBC writes off $ 3.2 billion in the first quarter linked to exposure to the U.S. subprime market . July 22 : WaMu reports $ 3.3 billion loss for second quarter . Aug. 31 : German Commerzbank AG takes over Dresdner Kleinwort investment bank . Sept 7 : Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac effectively nationalized by the U.S. Treasury which places them into `` conservatorship . '' Sept. 9 : Lehman Brothers shares plummet to lowest level on Wall Street in more than a decade . Sept 14 : Lehman Brothers files for bankruptcy . Stock markets plummet ; Central banks inject billions of dollars into money markets . Bank of America agrees to buy Merrill Lynch . Sept. 16 : AIG Corp , the world 's biggest insurer , bailed out by the U.S. Federal Reserve . Morgan Stanley and Wachovia enter merger talks . Sept. 17 : Halifax Bank of Scotland -LRB- HBOS -RRB- to merge with UK bank Lloyds TSB in an emergency rescue plan . Sept. 18 : Federal Bank and other central banks inject billions into global markets to help ease the crunch . Sept. 22 : Japan 's Nomura Holdings buys Lehman 's Asian operations for up to $ 525 million . Sept. 25 : WaMu sold to JP Morgan . Sept. 27 : HSBC announces 1,100 job cuts worldwide . Sept. 29 : - U.S. Congress rejects $ 700 billion plan to bail out the U.S. financial system . - UK 's Bradford & Bingley nationalized . Santander to buy deposits for $ 38.2 bn - German bank Hypo Real Estate to be bailed out by banks and government . - Citigroup , the world 's largest bank , says it will buy Wachovia . - Belgian giant Fortis is bailed out by Netherlands , Belgium and Luxembourg . - Royal Bank of Scotland shares lose a fifth of their value . - Iceland part-nationalizes Glitnir , one of its biggest banks . Sept 30 : - Belgian bank Dexia bailed out by France , Belgium and Luxembourg . - Swiss bank UBS announces small profit in third quarter . - Irish government guarantees safety of bonds , debts and deposits . Oct 1 : US Senate passes amended $ 700 billion bail-out plan . Oct 3 : - US Congress passes $ 700 billion bail-out , President Bush signs it into law . - Swiss bank UBS to cut 2000 jobs . - Dutch government nationalizes banking and insurance activities of Fortis . Oct 4-6 : - Proposed Hypo Real Estate bailout collapses . - Chancellor Angela Merkel announces new plan for Hypo bailout worth $ 69bn . - Merkel also announces guarantee of deposits in German banks . - UK raises limit on guaranteed bank deposits from # 35,000 - # 50,000 . - EU leaders meet in Paris for emergency summit to discuss financial crisis . - Battle rages between Citigroup and Wells Fargo over purchase of Wachovia . - French bank BNP Paribas takes 75 % stake in Fortis Oct 6 : - Danish government announces plan to guarantee bank deposits - Wells Fargo and Citigroup agree to legal standstill in battle for Wachovia . - Bank of America reports 68 % profit drop , stock sale to raise $ 10bn . Oct 7 : Icelandic bank Landsbanki nationalized ; Icesave , Landbanki 's internet bank , freezes UK customers ' accounts . Oct 8 : - UK Treasury freezes assets of Landsbanki in the UK ; threatens legal action - UK Treasury announces # 500 billion bank rescue package . - U.S. , UK , China , Canada , Sweden , Switzerland and ECB cut interest rates . - IMF forecasts `` Major global downturn '' . Oct 9 : Iceland nationalizes its biggest bank Kaupthing . Oct 10 : Black Friday - G7 finance ministers meet in Washington and issue a five-point plan . - Nikkei falls almost 10 % , biggest drop in 20 years . - FTSE falls more than 10 % , closes at 8.85 % ; worst daily fall since 1987 . - Oil prices fall to $ 80 a barrel . - Dow crashes nearly 700 points before regaining some lost ground . - Icelandic bank Kaupthing is nationalized . Oct 11 - 12 : - The Fed rubberstamps Wachovia takeover by Wells Fargo . - 15 EU leaders meet in Paris for emergency summit on crisis . - Gordon Brown urges them to adopt similar measures to UK bank rescue plan . - Leaders agree to guarantee loans between banks until end of 2009 . - Germany , France and Italy to announce individual plans Monday . - Australia agrees to guarantee deposits for next 3 years . - New Zealand guarantees bank deposits for 2 years . Oct 13 : - EU stock markets bounce back in response to EU leaders ' bailout announcements . - UK bails out 3 banks : RBS , HBOS and Lloyds TSB at cost of $ 63 billion . - Bank of England loans $ 174 million to Icelandic bank Landsbanki to help repay UK depositors . Oct 14 : - Iceland in talks with Russia to negotiate emergency loan of $ 5.44 billion after bank collapses . - U.S. follows UK lead by part-nationalizing banks . Oct 15 : - European and Asian stock markets fall after initial upswing . - Southeast Asian nations agree to start fund to provide financial support to countries in crisis ; World Bank commits $ 10 billion to the planned fund . - Russian stock market posts losses as RTS Index falls below 800 points . Oct 16 : - Global markets fall on fears of global slowdown . - Citigroup delays merger of its Japanese brokerage units due to costs involved . - Swiss government bails out UBS with $ 59.2 billion . - Credit Suisse posts 1.3 billion-franc third quarter loss ; raises $ 8.7 billion from investors . - Hungarian central bank gets cash injection from ECB to value of $ 6.7 billion . - EU leaders at Brussels summit call for complete overhaul of international financial system .