By any historical standard, the financial crisis of the past 18 months has been
extraordinary. Some have suggested it is the worst since the early 1970s; others, the
worst since the Great Depression; others still, the worst in human history. Time will
tell.
Risk managers are of course known for their pessimistic streak. Back in August 2007,
the Chief Financial Officer of Goldman Sachs, David Viniar, commented to the
Financial Times:
“We are seeing things that were 25-standard deviation moves, several days in a row”