In the past two years, powerful figures in both Washington and Wall Street became household names as the crisis deepened, markets and corporations struggled to survive and the federal government took drastic steps to save the economy. Whether they had a crucial hand in the crisis or were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time may not be clear for years.  Now, one year after the roughest stretch for the U.S. economy since the Great Depression, these financial titans have either stepped out of the spotlight or come to the end of their careers, voluntarily or not.  So where they now? Click ahead to find out!

One year after Lehman Brothers’ failure, former employees remain haunted and confounded by the event. “It wasn't Lehman's employees who failed; it was the leadership,” says one ex- senior manager.

As we approach the anniversary of some of the most cataclysmic failures in our economic history, we appear to be in perhaps no better position to manage the failure of an investment bank, a hedge fund or an insurance company than we were before.

Sovereign fund Korea Development Bank  confirms it is talks  with Lehman Brothers about acquiring  a stake and Fitch cuts it ratings on preferred shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over concerns  about their access to capital.

With bad home mortgages  on the back burner, the big threat to the economy is now believed to be troubled credit card, commercial real estate and commercial industrial debt.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke tells Congress he didn't pressure BofA into acquiring Merrill Lynch in a deal that cost taxpayers $20 billion.