After every great crisis, a simple question arises: Who knew?

Lewis Ranieri, who pioneered mortgage backed securities when he worked at Salomon Brothers in the late 1970s and more recently warned against their misuse, is the latest victim of the nation’s housing crisis.

Using expert consultants is common in business and government. SEC Inspector General David Kotz used one in his report that slams the agency for missing numerous red flags that foreshadowed the collapse of Bear Stearns.

Despite hard times, or maybe because of hard times, Fortress Investment Group has just awarded $300 million in shares to retain one of its traders.

Federal regulators closed IndyMac Bank Friday afternoon and transferred operation to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

To say IndyMac CEO Michael Perry is in a tough spot is an understatement. He might be on a mission impossible.

You might view Philip Milne as one of the many casualties of the current financial crunch, another top exec who lost his job because of his company’s disastrous investments in subprime mortgages.

History won’t be kind to Angelo Mozilo, the founder of Countrywide Financial whose shareholders approved the company’s sale to Bank of America yesterday. His is a great American success story, but a tragedy, too.

Washington Mutual shareholders approved a $7 billion infusion from TPG and other investors yesterday, thereby blessing — they had little choice — the return of Texas deal maker David Bonderman to the company’s board of directors. The decision came on a day when WaMu stock hit a 16-year low.

A bad year for homeowners meant a good year for John A. Paulson. Paulson, the founder and president of the hedge fund Paulson & Company, made $3.7 billion last year, according to an annual listing of the 50 most highly paid hedge fund managers.