You can get a sense of the scale for the subprime/Alt-A market here: http://bp3.blogger.com/_pMscxxELHEg/RxzD0s_7EYI/AAAAAAAABB4/ljDSXZhMG3o/s1600/IMFresets.j

You can get a sense of the scale for the subprime/Alt-A market here: http://bp3.blogger.com/_pMscxxELHEg/RxzD0s_7EYI/AAAAAAAABB4/ljDSXZhMG3o/s1600/IMFresets.jpg http://bp3.blogger.com/_pMscxxELHEg/RxzD0s_7EYI/AAAAAAAABB4/... That graph shows you the size of the actual loans, but there was also a sizeable amount of money tied up in derivatives of those loans, which multiplied the effect.