The heads of the surviving, large Wall Street investment banks testified before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission - a group chartered by Congress to look into the causes of the 2008 financial collapse. Bankers acknowledged that their companies took excessive risks in the years leading up to the crisis but said they could not have anticipated the events that precipitated the meltdown. In sometimes contentious questioning, they also defended their investments in mortgage-backed securities and pointed to market conditions, Wall Street practices, and the lack of information as underlying reasons for the financial crisis.
During a break and again after the panel, witnesses spoke informally with members of the press in the room.