by Sheila Bair
First published 2012
Sheila Bair sits in her office as Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation while banks collapse around the country. The 2008 financial crisis tests every decision she makes as she fights to protect ordinary depositors from the fallout of reckless lending practices. Bair battles Treasury officials who favor bailing out large banks while she pushes for solutions that hold financial institutions accountable. She works to close failing banks in an orderly fashion while preventing panic among consumers who depend on deposit insurance. Political pressure mounts from all sides as she refuses to compromise her principles about fair treatment for taxpayers and borrowers facing foreclosure. The crisis forces Bair to make choices that will determine whether the banking system survives and whether public trust in financial institutions can be restored.
Genres: business, politics, economics, non-fiction, 21st-century, finance
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: underdog, whistleblower
Setting: United States
Period: 2008
432 pages · Hardcover · Free Press