TIMELINE-From Bear to WaMu, credit crunch victims pile up

(Reuters) - Following are some of the key events in the biggest financial industry crisis since the Great Depression. * Jan 11, 2008: Bank of America (BAC.N) pays $4 billion for Countrywide Financial CFC.N after the mortgage lender goes bust when risky loans to shaky borrowers fail. * Jan 30: UBS (UBSN.VX) announces $4 billion new write-downs, taking total subprime-related writedowns to $18.4 billion. * Feb 17: UK's Northern Rock nationalised after funding crisis. * March 16/17: Bear Stearns BSC.N sold to U.S. investment bank JP Morgan Chase (JPM.N) for about $2 a share. * July 13: U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve effectively nationalise mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae (FNM.N) and Freddie Mac (FRE.N) in a bid to support U.S. housing market. * Sept 15: Wall Street's worst day since markets reopened after the September 2001 attacks; Lehman Brothers LEH.N in largest U.S. bankruptcy; Merrill Lynch MER.N taken over by Bank of America; American International Group (AIG.N), once the world's top insurer, scrambles for capital because of losses on its mortgage-related debt. * Sept 16: Central banks pump billions of dollars into money markets in a bid to ease tensions and prevent global financial system from freezing: AIG shares almost halve. Fed announces plan for $85 billion AIG rescue loan in return for 80 percent stake; Britain's Barclays (BARC.L) buys parts of Lehman's North American assets for $1.75 billion. * Sept 17: Shares in Goldman Sachs (GS.N) and Morgan Stanley (MS.N) fall sharply; Britain's Lloyds TSB (LLOY.L) buys rival HBOS HBOS.L; U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) curbs short-selling. * Sept 19: World stock markets soar on U.S. plans to buy up so-called toxic assets, helping cleanse the financial system. * Sept 20-21: Details emerge of U.S. plan for $700 billion bailout for firms burdened by bad mortgage debt; Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley transformed into bank holding companies, ending Wall Street's investment banking model. * Sept 22: Japan's Nomura Holdings (8604.T) buys Lehman's Asia operations for up to $525 million. Later, Nomura pays a nominal sum for Lehman's Europe and Middle East operations; Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (8306.T) agrees to buy up to 20 percent of Morgan Stanley for $8.5 billion. * Sept 23: Warren Buffett pays $5 billion for up to 9 percent of Goldman Sachs; FBI probes Fannie, Freddie, AIG and Lehman for potential mortgage fraud. * Sept 24: In nationwide broadcast, U.S. President George W. Bush warns that financial system at risk of shutting down. Urges agreement on $700 billion bailout. * Sept 25: Biggest U.S. bank failure as authorities close Washington Mutual (WM.N) and sell parts to JPMorgan Chase for $1.9 billion. (Compiled by Asiadesk and Gillian Murdoch, Beijing Editorial Reference Unit; Editing by Ian Geoghegan) ʘ