according to this study (via Alea) from the Goethe University in Frankfurt: it wasn't inability but misconceived bonus schemes that drove the crisis in the securitisation market.

We believe that incentives in banks and in financial value chains are at the core of the problem. Incentive misalignments tend to lower the quality of financial products, thus destabilizing asset valuation. Moreover, incentives misalignments tend to raise the leverage of financial intermediaries. Both effects undermine transparency about asset quality and risk positions of financial intermediaries. This cocktail inevitably destabilizes financial markets...