In the 2000s, the industry was dominated by five investment banks (Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, and Bear Stearns), two financial conglomerates (Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase), three securitized insurance companies (AIG, MBIA, AMBAC) and the three rating agencies (Moody's, Standard & Poor's, Fitch).

There were some warnings about the growing risks in the financial system, including from Raghuram Rajan, then the chief economist of the IMF, who, at the Federal Reserve's 2005 Jackson Hole conference, identified some risks and proposed policies to address them, though former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers called his warnings "misguided" and Rajan himself a "luddite".

Henry Paulson and Timothy Geithner decided that Lehman must go into bankruptcy, which resulted in a collapse of the commercial paper market.

On October 3, 2008, President George W. Bush signed the Troubled Asset Relief Program, but global stock markets continued to fall.

Many academic economists who had advocated for deregulation for decades and helped shape U.S. policy still opposed reform following the 2008 financial crisis.

Many of these economists were paid consultants to companies and other groups involved in the financial crisis, conflicts of interest that were often not disclosed in their research papers.

The incoming Obama administration's financial reforms were weak, and there was no significant proposed regulation of the practices of ratings agencies, lobbyists, or executive compensation.

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, it holds an approval rating of 98% based on 148 reviews, with an average rating of 8.2/10; the site's "critics consensus" reads: "Disheartening but essential viewing, Charles Ferguson's documentary explores the 2008 Global Financial Crisis with exemplary rigor.

[11] Logan Hill of New York magazine characterized the film as a "rip-snorting, indignant documentary", noting the "effective presence" of narrator Matt Damon.

"[14] Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times hailed the documentary as a "powerhouse" that presents its complex subject matter with "cinematic verve.

A reviewer writing from Cannes characterized it as "a complex story told exceedingly well and with a great deal of unalloyed anger".

[16] In 2010, economist Gene Epstein, writing for Barron's, criticized the documentary for presenting an incomplete and biased view of the 2008 financial crisis.

While acknowledging elements of truth in the narrative about Wall Street greed, Epstein argued that it failed to adequately explore the proactive role of government policy in the crisis, particularly the influence of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.