Financialization as one of the sources of contemporary economic crises

Motivation: Financialization is a multidimensional, complex process, which is currently developing very strongly and which can affect the economy in a positive or negative way. A positive impact usually materializes in the form of an increase in the level of GDP, and a negative one in the form of supremacy of the financial area over the real sphere, an increase in the role of financial activity of non-financial entities, and even the autonomy of the financial sphere in relation to the real sphere.Aim: The purpose of this article is to identify and assess the impact of the financialization process on the modern economy and to look at this process as one of the potential sources of financial crises. This article focuses on the negative effects of financialization and uses the example of the American crisis of 2008.Materials and methods: review and critical review of the literature and reports from the financial sector, with particular emphasis on the negative impact of financialization on the US financial sector in 2008.Results: The first part presents the essence and characteristics of financialization and attempts to systematize this process. In the second part, financialization was looked at through the prism of the risk it brings, the materialization of the effects of which may lead to serious economic turbulence, and even to financial crises. The level of these effects was presented and assessed, as well as the methods of action of the American government, which contributed to minimizing the effects of the 2008 crisis, but which at the same time cannot be considered effective in the fight against financialization.