I think that there is some sort of bail-out or insurance for the banks by the Fed government.
The subprime mortgage problem from 2008 is brought up well in this comdedy bit, beginning at about the three minute mark.
Bundling the debts and sell them.
“Why do they buy these investments?”
“Well, they have good names. Bear Stearns’s calls one of them High-Grade Structured Enhanced Credit Fund”
“Well, High Grade - I like the sound of that name!”
“But if these investments collapse, won’t it hurt the economy.”
“Oh - but they won’t collapse, as the government will step in and bail out the investment companies.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzJmTCYmo9g
The next video had something about “We all knew it was going to collapse, but the trick is, we all ACTED like it wasn’t going to happen.”