Reply #6: If all those derivatives were written off, God only knows.

[LittleBlue]

Think about this: You give $10 to a bank. That bank lends it to someone at 10%, and that someone spends it at Home Depot. Home Depot puts it in their bank, and their bank lends it out at 10%. Keep this going on for perhaps 100 times, and you have $100 of interest revenue (and thus income) every year from just $10. Now imagine a reverse-collapse where everyone is fighting to claim that $10 in bankruptcy court. Every bank thinks they've got $10 ($10 x 100 banks so $1,000); get this: there's only $10 for everyone! (Joker laugh)

That's how bad it is, times about 4 trillion.