The global financial crisis of 10 years ago was largely about excessive leverage built up in the financial system, evidenced specifically but not exclusively by sub-prime credit risk, evermore complex and unintelligible debt structures, and ultimately a collapse in confidence around the ability of certain institutions to fund themselves.

As always with crises it is difficult to pinpoint a single trigger for the rapid events which unfolded, but markets collapsed, interbank funding dried up, banks failed in the US and Europe, and the ripple effect of collateral damage ultimately led to a full-blown sovereign debt crisis in several countries which were forced to stand behind their banks.