The Global Financial Crisis and Great Recession was a milestone event that ushered in the third phase in the evolution of the international financial system following the Great Inflation of the 1970s-early 1980s and the Great Moderation that followed and lasted through 2007. While there were bouts of financial instability that required periodic interventions by G-7 policymakers during the second phase, the general impression at the time was the world’s financial system was fundamentally sound.