How many mortgages defaulted in the US which ultimately led to the banking crisis?

The problem isn't the current number of defaults. The problem is that no one knows how many defaults there will be in the future. This uncertainty is leading to low confidence in the industry causing investors to back away.





This problem isn't unique to the mortgage industry. A few years ago, virtually the same scenario occurred in the technology industry. Lots of money was thrown at the industry for no reason at all except for the hope of future returns. Except, oops, in most cases people lost money. When the investors realized this, they started pulling back thier investment money causing much of the industry to collapse. The collapse allowed the big boys the opportunity to buy up good companies at bargain basement prices and, eventually, the industry recovered and is now stronger than ever.





Reform has been needed in the banking industry for some time but nobody wanted to mess with anything because they were making money.





It's all part of the cycle and, once it starts to reverse itself, the economy will be even stronger with more safeguards in place. How many mortgages defaulted in the US which ultimately led to the banking crisis?
Here's a link to a site that will give you a ';heat map'; of Sub-prime and Alt-A delinquencies. It's from the Federal Reserve and it's quite an eye-opener! You can track lates, foreclosed and pre-foreclosures across the US. Fascinating, but a little scary!