Global Credit Excess Is WORSE than Before the 2008 Crash Posted on September 16, 2013 by WashingtonsBlog. The Telegraph reported yesterday that Bis and its former chief economist – William White – are saying things are at least as bad as before the 2008 crash: Mr White said the five years since Lehman have largely been wasted, leaving a global system that is even more unbalanced, and may be running out of lifelines.