Book excerpt: Over the past several years, the nation has experienced its most severe financial crisis since the Great Depression. In response, policymakers undertook a series of extraordinary actions to stabilize financial markets and institutions. The Federal Reserve System (FR) used its policy tools to reduce short-term interest rates and increase the avail. of funds to banks, and it created a variety of non-traditional credit programs to help restore liquidity and confidence to the financial sector. This study describes the various actions by the FR to stabilize the financial markets and how those actions will affect the fed. budget in coming years. Also presents estimates of the risk-adjusted subsidies that the FR provided to financial institutions through its emergency programs.