Two days after US officials decided to let Lehman Brothers collapse in September 2008, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke was optimistic that it would be able to limit the fallout. “I think that our policy is looking actually pretty good,” he said. “Our quick move [to reduce interest rates in early 2008], which was obviously very controversial and uncertain, was appropriate.” As things turned out, an early cut in interest rates was far from sufficient to prevent the crisis that followed.