A trader sits on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange moments before the closing bell the day after a report that United States economy was officially in recession. Photo / Getty
A trader sits on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange moments before the closing bell the day after a report that United States economy was officially in recession. Photo / Getty
Last week marked 10 years since the financial crisis began, a devastating stream of events that launched Western economies into the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
As the crash unfolded, high-profile bankers hit the headlines for their roles in the chaos, both in the US and the UK, but many have since kept out of the public eye.
We take a look at were some of the key figures from the financial crisis are 10 years on.
Fred Goodwin, also known as 'Fred the Shred' for his cost-cutting methods, led RBS at the time of the financial crisis, prior to which he had undertaken more than 20 takeovers at the bank, growing its size rapidly.
In 2007, RBS decided to buy Dutch bank ABN Amro, staging a £49 billion (NZ$87b) takeover of the group.
However, the deal overstretched the bank's resources and RBS was forced to ask shareholders for £12b in a cash call after incurring heavy writedowns.
This was not enough, and RBS's heavy borrowing meant it had no option but to accept a Government bail-out, with the state pumping in £15b for a 58 per cent stake.
Amid continued criticism for his role in the bank's near collapse, Goodwin resigned in early 2009 and agreed to lose part of his pension, though would still receive £342,500 a year. He had originally been awarded £703,000 a year when he left.
His knighthood was annulled in 2012.
Where is he now
This summer almost saw Goodwin return to the limelight, as he was scheduled to give evidence in court over allegations that the lender did not give investors a full picture of its finances at the time of a crunch fundraising in 2008.
However, the case was called off in June after most shareholders agreed a settlement with RBS.
He was thought to have moved to a gated community in the South of France, though little has been seen of him since he was questioned by the Treasury select committee in 2009.
HBOS Chief Executive Andy Hornby. Photo / Getty
Andy Hornby
His role during the financial crisis
Andy Hornby became the chief executive of British lender HBOS in 2006 at just 38, having served as Halifax's chief executive of Retail prior to the merger with Bank of Scotland in 2001.
Rumours emerged in early 2008 that HBOS's financial health was not good, and it launched a £4b cash call in April, which just 8 per cent of investors agreed to participate in. Its profits then dived 72 per cent, and Lloyds had to step in to rescue it.
HBOS's value fell from £30b in 2001 to £12b on being bought by Lloyds in 2008, and the Government bailed it out, together with Lloyds, later that year.
Former chief executive of North Rock, Adam Applegarth had worked his way up the company, starting as a cashier at the bank upon leaving university.
The UK lender was forced to rely on the UK Government for help after BNP Paribas froze withdrawals on funds hit by the crisis in the US subprime market. Concerns mounted over Northern Rock, prompting a bank run, and the Government was forced to step in to nationalise it in February 2009.
Before the bill was passed for the nationalisation, though, Applegarth left Northern Rock and received a £760,000 "golden goodbye".
According to reports at the time, in the five years leading up to the crash, he had been paid around £10m, and had cashed in shares worth £2.6m in the 18 months prior to leaving.
Where is he now?
After leaving Northern Rock, Applegarth was given an advisory role at US private equity firm Apollo Management, where he worked until 2013.
He then took up a similar role at another US firm Pine Brook Partners in 2015. Neither appointment required regulatory approval.
John Tiner
His role during the financial crisis
John Tiner headed up the Financial Services Authority, the predecessor to the Financial Conduct Authority, between 2003 and 2007, when he was praised for his work on the life insurance industry in the wake of the dotcom bubble bursting.
He famously said in 2006 that "firms' managements - not their regulators - are responsible for identifying and controlling risks."
Tiner, together with the FSA, faced criticism after the near-meltdown of the UK banking system, namely for the failure to notice the problems at Northern Rock and for allowing RBS to take over ABN Amro.
In May this year, Tiner was named the chairman of a new insurance giant, established through the merger of five businesses including rescured insurer Towergate. The business is now called Ardonagh Group.
He also serves as chairman of Credit Suisse's audit committee and on its risk committee.
Richard Fuld
His role during the financial crisis
Richard Fuld was known as the Gorilla of Wall Street, serving as the chief executive of Lehman Brothers from 1994, and was seen as one of the key figures behind the financial collapse.
Lehman was part of the complex network of sub-prime securitisations, though speaking in his first voluntary public appearance since 2008 at a conference two years ago, Fuld notably did not accept responsibility for the bank's decision to bet big on sub-prime mortgages.
Fuld received £374m in salary, bonuses and options between 2000 and 2007.
John Thain became the chief executive of Merril Lynch in early 2008. Documents showed he decided to spend US$1.22m re-vamping the office suite on joining the business.
This decision was taken despite Merrill Lynch recording huge losses from its investments in the US real estate market.
Later in 2008, Thain struck a deal to sell Merrill to Bank of America for US$50b in stock, in what was seen as a coup amid other large banks collapsing.
However, he left in early 2009, after Bank of America Merrill Lynch blamed him for early payment of bonuses made in December before the deal completed.
He waived his own bonus. Reports suggested he had been seeking a US$10m payment for that year.
Thain served for five years as chief executive of midsize lender CIT Group until March 2016, having turned the business around after its bankruptcy.
He stepped down as chairman in May last year, despite the bank having said he would remain in that role after retiring as chief executive.
Shares at CIT fell 28 per cent in the first two months of 2016, but the group's performance has since improved, and shares are up 35 per cent in the past 12 months.
Former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan. Photo / Getty
Alan Greenspan
His role during the financial crisis
Alan Greenspan was the chairman of the US Federal Reserve between 1987 and 2006, and many economists blamed him for the financial crisis.
The main criticism levelled at Greenspan is that he kept interest rates too low for too long, encouraging a bubble in house prices to grow between 2002 and 2006.
He later told a Congressional hearing that he had "made a mistake in presuming" that financial firms could regulate themselves.
Where is he now?
On leaving the Fed he set up an economic consulting firm called Greenspan Associates LLC. Records suggest he is still the president of this business.
Recently, Greenspan has been back in the limelight, making comments on the global economic outlook and current populist trends both at conferences and in the media.
Speaking earlier this year at a public forum in New York he warned against economists having a "false sense of recovery" and said the rise of populism meant "the vitality of our democratic institutions has been impaired."
Sir Victor Bank is credited as the person who merged Lloyds and HBOS during the financial crisis, resulting in both having to be bailed out by the public purse.
He served as chairman of Lloyds between May 2006 and 2009, when he decided to retire from the lender amid mounting pressure from institutional shareholders and ahead of a shareholder vote on his re-election.
Where is he now?
Sir Victor has continued as chairman of the charity Wellbeing of Women, which holds an annual 'Celebrity Cricket Day' at his manor in Oxfordshire.
Shareholders launched a court case against Lloyds, Sir Victor and a number of other directors at the lender in the wake of the financial crisis over Lloyds' rescue of HBOS, and a date for the case is scheduled for this October.
On the upcoming case, a Lloyds spokesman told The Telegraph: "The group's position remains that we do not consider there to be any merit to these claims and we will robustly contest this legal action."
James Cayne, former chairman and CEO of Bear Stearns. Photo / Getty
James 'Jimmy' Cayne
His role during the financial crisis
Jimmy Cayne, the Wall Street veteran and figuredhead for Bear Stearns, had gained a reputation for spending more time on the golf course than in the office in the run-up to the financial crisis, and was known as a keen bridge player.
In fact, he is said to have been playing bridge in the week when, in 2007, Bear Stearns became the first major US institution to be hit by the crisis, as its hedge funds collapsed due to their exposure to sub-prime investments.
As troubles mounted at Bear, the US Government stepped in, organising the lender's buyout by JP Morgan for US$2.1m. Its value had stood at $20b in January 2007.
Where is he now?
Jimmy Cayne retired from his chief executive position in January 2008, and manged to sell his stake in the business for around US$61m. He told Vanity Fair at the time his net worth then stood at US$400m.
Earlier this summer, Cayne sued bond heiress Alexandra Lebenthal for more than US$438,000, which he claimed he was still owed from a US$1m loan he gave her in 2008.
Representatives of Cayne and Lenenthal did not respond to requests for comment.