Blue Monday Crash 2009 facts for kids
On Monday, 19 January 2009, a day sometimes called Blue Monday, something big happened in the world of money. Shares of British banks dropped very quickly. This happened after the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) announced the biggest money losses for a company in British history. RBS shares fell by more than 67% in just one day. Other British banks also lost a lot of value.
The next day, Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays shares fell sharply again. RBS and HSBC also continued to lose value.
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British Bank Crisis of 2009
This event was part of a larger time of money problems known as the Great Recession. It showed how connected banks are and how quickly things can change in the financial world.
What Happened to RBS?
News reports said that RBS lost £28 billion in 2008. Because of this huge loss, the UK government promised to own more of the company, up to 70%. People started to think that the government might take over the bank completely.
Even though the government promised to help RBS with money from people's taxes, the bank still lost billions of pounds in value on the stock market. Gordon Brown, who was the Prime Minister at the time, planned for the public (through the government) to own more of what was once one of the world's biggest financial companies. Because of this, investors in London quickly sold their shares.
Here's how much the share prices fell for some major banks:
Monday's Big Drops
- RBS ~67%
- Lloyds Banking Group ~33%
- Barclays ~10%
- HSBC ~6%
Tuesday's Continued Falls
- RBS ~11%
- Lloyds Banking Group ~31%
- Barclays ~17%
- HSBC ~3%
See also
