问答题 Beginning in mid一2007，the U．S．economy began to weaken following a series of crises related to problem financial institutions．Several large investment banks，commercial banks．and insurance companies suffered losses due to falling real estate values and excessive financial leverage。 As large financial institutions suffered significant losses all over the globe，credit supply reduced sharply．In December 2007，the United States fell into recession．The global economv followed．In 2008，the U．S．lost over 2．5 million jobs．By 2009，the Obama administration and government spending in an effort to jump—start consumer and business spending．Importantly．the policies were designed to raise consumer and business confidence． Clearly，the banking world has permanently changed．Investment banks in the traditional sense no longer exist as independent organizations． Given excessive financial leverage，bank regulators pursued policies to reduce leverage at banks．As such，the nature of bank risk taking changed．Banks began to focus more on capital adequacy，the quality of assets，and the availability of adequate liquidity．And the financial industry again consolidated．