The Federal Reserve announces that it will provide $30 billion in financing to support JPMorgan Chase’s acquisition of Bear Stearns.

President Bush signs the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, which authorizes funds for a government rescue of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Fannie and Freddie are placed under the conservatorship of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. For each company, the current CEOs and board of directors are dismissed, and Treasury receives warrants for each representing 79.9 percent of the common stock. Under the terms of the rescue, the Treasury commits to invest up to $100 billion in each company to compensate for their losses.

Lehman Brothers declares bankruptcy, accelerating the deterioration of the credit markets.

Bank of America announces it will buy Merrill Lynch.

With AIG collapsing, the Fed bails it out with access to an $85 billion credit line.

Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson releases a three-page, $700 billion proposal to purchase troubled mortgage-related assets, called the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Washington Mutual collapses and is acquired by JPMorgan Chase.

The House votes down the administration's bailout proposal, which had been prepared in concert with congressional leaders.

The Senate passes a revised version of the bill, stuffed with tax breaks.

The House passes the bill, and the president signs the $700 billion Emergency Economic Stabilization Act into law.

The government restructures its bailout of AIG. The insurer gets access to $37.8 billion more in loans.

The Treasury Department announces that it will invest up to $250 billion in the nation's banks via the Capital Purchase Program, a subcomponent of the TARP, and billed as investments in "healthy banks." Paulson announced nine major banks signed on for a total of $125 billion in investments. (More about the program here.)

Wachovia, rejecting a previous proposal with Citigroup, agreed to merge with Wells Fargo for $15.4 billion

The government restructures its bailout of AIG for the second time. Treasury invests $40 billion in AIG as part of the government’s now-$150 billion effort to keep AIG from collapsing.

Paulson announces that he's scrapping the plan to purchase troubled assets. The capital investments in the banks proved to be a "more powerful" means of boosting the financial system, he said.

Freddie Mac reports a net loss of $25.3 billion for the third quarter of 2008. To fill the hole of its losses, the Federal Housing Finance Agency requests $13.8 billion from the Treasury.

The Treasury announces that it will invest $20 billion more in Citigroup; this is in addition to a $25 billion investment in October through the Capital Purchase Program. The government also agrees to use up to $5 billion to help Citi absorb losses from a $301 billion pool of assets.

The Treasury and Fed announce the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF), a Fed program that will lend up to $200 billion to owners of highly rated asset-backed securities in order to spur consumer lending. Treasury puts up $20 billion to support the effort. (More about the program here.)

The Treasury announces that it will make loans to General Motors and Chrysler to prevent bankruptcy. (More about the auto bailout here.)

Under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, Congress had the power to block the release of the second half of the $700 billion funding authorized by the bill. But after promises by the incoming administration about how it would spend the money, the Senate voted to allow access to the remaining $350 billion.

The Treasury announces a deal with Bank of America similar to the Citi deal. It will invest $20 billion more in Bank of America; this is in addition to a $25 billion investment in October through the Capital Purchase Program. The government also agrees to help Bank of America absorb losses from a $118 billion pool of assets. That agreement, however, is never finalized.

Obama is inaugurated as the 44th president.

Timothy Geithner is sworn in as Secretary of the Treasury.

Geithner rolls out the Financial Stability Plan. Geithner promises to perform "stress tests" on the nation's biggest banks to determine their health and the necessity of more government investments, announces that the government will form some sort of public-private partnership to buy troubled assets from the banks, says he'll commit an additional $100 billion to boost the TALF and promises the administration will soon introduce its foreclosure prevention plan.

President Obama signs the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which includes a section limiting the bonuses of the highest earning executives at firms that received bailout money.

The administration announces its broad plan to prevent foreclosures and promote mortgage loan modifications. (More about the program here.)

Geithner announces that the Treasury is increasing its funding commitment to both Fannie and Freddie from $100 billion to $200 billion.

Bank regulators begin their stress tests of the nation’s 19 largest banks and promise that they'll be finished by the end of April at the latest. Treasury officials explain that the tests will be used to determine how much more money the banks need to survive a steep economic downturn.

The administration's budget blueprint suggests that the Treasury Department might need as much as $750 billion more to stabilize the financial sector.

Fannie Mae reports a $25.2 billion loss for the fourth quarter of 2008 and losses for all of 2008 totaling $58.7 billion. To fill the holes of its losses, the Federal Housing Finance Agency requests $15.2 billion from the Treasury.

The government restructures its bailout of AIG for the third time. Treasury says it might invest up to $30 billion more. Together, the Fed's and Treasury's commitments add up to $180 billion.

The Fed and Treasury announce the launch of the TALF.

The Treasury launches its plan to promote mortgage loan modifications and pledges to spend $75 billion on the effort.

Freddie Mac reports a $23.9 billion net loss for the fourth quarter of 2008 and net losses for 2008 totaling $50.1 billion. To fill the hole of its losses, the Federal Housing Finance Agency requests $30.8 billion from the Treasury, bringing the total bailout to $44.6 billion.

AIG pays out $165 million in retention bonuses to executives who work in the business unit that was primarily responsible for sinking the company.

The Treasury announces a program to spur credit markets for small businesses by purchasing up to $15 billion in securities backed by Small Business Administration loans. The program never gets off the ground.

The Treasury announces the Auto Supplier Support Program, a plan to provide up to $5 billion in financing to auto parts suppliers. (More about the program here.)

Treasury Secretary Geithner rolls out the administration's plan to use government capital and financing to team with private investors to buy up toxic assets. Between $75 billion to $100 billion will be dedicated to the effort. (More about the program here.)

AIG and the Treasury Department finalize the agreement to provide AIG up to $30 billion more, but the Treasury trims $165 million from the additional aid and charges a fee for the same amount to recoup the bonuses paid to AIG employees in March.

Chrysler files for bankruptcy protection, and as part of the restructuring, the Treasury Department agrees to loan Chrysler up to $8 billion more. The Treasury will get an eight percent stake in the company.

According to the results of the Federal Reserve's "stress tests," 10 of the 19 largest banks will have to raise a total of $74.6 billion in additional capital to withstand a dire economic scenario. Ultimately, all of the banks raise the money privately, with the exception of GMAC.

Fannie Mae reports a $23.2 billion loss for the first quarter of 2009. To fill the holes of its losses, the Federal Housing Finance Agency requests $19 billion from the Treasury.

Freddie Mac reports a $9.9 billion net loss for the first quarter of 2009. To fill the hole of its losses, the Federal Housing Finance Agency requests $6.1 billion from the Treasury, bringing the total bailout to $50.7 billion.

FDIC chief Sheila Bair announces that the banks have been so successful in raising private capital that there is no longer sufficient interest in a plan to purchase their troubled loans. The loan program comprises one-half of the Public-Private Investment Program; the other, to buy banks' asset-backed securities, is still in development.

The Treasury Department announces that it has approved 10 banks to repay their TARP funds. The banks are JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, U.S. Bank, Northern Trust, Capital One, BB&T, American Express, Bank of New York Mellon, and State Street. You can see a complete list of the banks that have repaid their TARP funds here.

GM files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. As part of the restructuring, the U.S. government agrees to provide the company up to $30.1 billion more. In exchange, the U.S. will receive a 60 percent stake in the company when it emerges from bankruptcy.

The new Chrysler announces that it has finalized its alliance with Fiat, and that the new company will begin operations immediately. On June 29, seven Chrysler plants resumed production. Most manufacturing operations had been idle since early May.

The Treasury names the nine asset managers who will participate in its program to buy toxic securities and says that up to $30 billion of TARP funds will be invested alongside private investors.

GM announces that its purchase of the company's good assets (and shedding of the bad) has been finalized and that it can begin operations as a new company.

On July 23 and July 30, Treasury exchanged a total of $25 billion of its preferred shares in Citigroup for common stock. As a result, the Treasury owns 7.7 billion shares of Citi's common stock, a 34% stake in the company.

Fannie Mae reports a $14.8 billion billion loss for the second quarter of 2009. To fill the holes of its losses, the Federal Housing Finance Agency requests $10.7 billion from the Treasury.

The Special Master for TARP Executive Compensation releases determinations on the compensation packages for the top 25 most highly paid executives at the companies that received "exceptional" assistance -- i.e. those that were bailed out in the strictest sense of the word: AIG, Bank of America, Citigroup, Chrysler, Chrysler Financial, General Motors, and GMAC.

Fannie Mae reports a $18.9 billion billion loss for the third quarter of 2009. To fill the holes of its losses, the Federal Housing Finance Agency requests $15 billion from the Treasury.

CIT files for bankruptcy protection. A $2.33 billion TARP investment is wiped out.

AIG announces that it has completed two deals that, together, shave $25 billion off its tab to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, bringing the combined total it owes the Fed and the Treasury to about $62 billion.

Citigroup repays $20 billion to the Treasury.

Citi's $5 billion loss-share agreement with the Treasury is terminated. The Treasury still retains the common stock it received in exchanged for its $25 billion investment, so, together with the $20 billion reimbursement, the total outstanding aid falls to $25 billion from $50 billion.

Bank of America returns all $45 billion to the Treasury.

Wells Fargo returns all $25 billion.

The Treasury says that in order to preserve "the continued strength and stability of the mortgage market," it is removing the $400 billion cap ($200 billion for each) the Treasury Department placed on the aid earlier in 2009. For the next three years, the Treasury will cover Fannie and Freddie's losses, no matter how large.

In a complex transaction, AIG paid off its outstanding debt to the Fed with the help of the Treasury, which took a large stake in AIG as compensation.