5. Bankruptcy and reorganization In 2008, the United States began to witness one of the worst recessions since the 1930s. The collapse of the housing bubble in 2006 led to a massive decline in real estate prices, affecting consumers and institutions, especially banking and financial entities. Severe liquidity shortfalls in the United States as well as other global markets led to a serious credit crisis. During the credit crisis of 2008-2009, several banks and other businesses went through a reorganization process or were forced to liquidate. Consider the following statement: In May 2009, General Motors started closing 2,600 of its retail outlets and finally filed for bankruptcy in June. It emerged from the bankruptcy protection by July 2009 after it received funding from the U.S. government, the Canadian government, the United Automobile Workers Union, and GM bondholders. This is an example of: liquidation. reorganization