Academic Paper from the year 2018 in the subject Business economics - Economic Policy, grade: 1,4 / 69, language: English, abstract: The financial system played a leading role in the global economic crisis in the year of 2007. The list of possible explanations is long: deficient regulatory structures, conflicts of interest, economic deterioration of middle-income families, a wrong monetary policy, incorrect economic models and many more factors have been named. However, is it possible that in this discussion of the causes of the global financial crisis 2007 we are neglecting a more profound question? Is it possible that the GFC is evidence of the failure of a whole financial system? This essay will analyse if the GFC represents a systemic failure of market-based finance. The thesis statement of this essay is that the GFC does not represent a systemic failure of market-based finance. To prove this I will first compare market-based finance and bank-based finance. Subsequently, the GFC will be explained. I will then give an overview on the effects of the GFC in market and bank-based financial systems. Next, I will discuss the relationship between market-based finance and the GFC. Finally, the resulting policy implications will be stated.