[setum]

> would have collapsed without massive and unprecedented government intervention

would have, could have, but didn’t, that goes only to prove op’s point that institutions don’t lose money, especially the big ones.

[MomoXenosaga]

The government is an institution and they lost money. Entire banks were nationalised in a single night.

[croes]

Banks mean nothing. They shiftet their assets to other banks and nationalized mainly the debt. As a consequences they cut pensions, cut benefits and raised taxes on the middle class. The top 1% was spared and saved and got even richer in the crisis.