The paper compares the policy choices in current and past financial crises, given initial conditions and underlying causes, explains why choices varied, reviews the current state of financial and operational restructuring, and institutional reforms, and raises questions on the toolkit to be used for future financial crises. Given the general interest in the topic, yet also taking into account the still ongoing financial crisis and the difficulty to make firm conclusions, we consider a Staff Discussion Note the most appropriate dissemination vehicle. The proposal for the prospective SDN has been authorized by Olivier Blanchard and Jose Vinals. We would like to bring the note out soon after the Board presentation and well ahead of Spring Meetings. We would appreciate EXR’s cooperation for publication and dissemination.