The evolution of the crisis and international cooperation Twenty months ago the collapse of Lehman Brothers opened up grim prospects for global finance and the world economy. The action of monetary authorities and governments staved off the collapse of confidence among financial operators, savers, investors and consumers.
In the G7 countries as a group, public financial support for the economy exceeded 5 percentage points of GDP in 2009. Real short-term interest rates turned negative and the central banks provided unprecedented volumes of liquidity.