Despite Recovery, Bank Lending Still Falling

The final scene in the movie "Too Big to Fail" shows Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke (played by Paul Giamatti) talking with then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson (portrayed by William Hurt).

The scene takes place in September 2008 after the two men had just arm-twisted some of the nation's biggest banks into taking $125 billion in government bailout money as part of a last-ditch plan to stop a financial meltdown.

Part of the deal was that the banks would reopen their lending windows, easing a credit crunch that threatened to worsen an already frightening economic slowdown.