 At the end of 2008, following the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the subsequent turmoil in the markets, Paulson became selectively bullish.It launched a fund dedicated to restructuring and/or recapitalizing companies such as investment banks, hedge funds, insurance and hotel, that were feeling the pressure of the more than $345 billion of write downs of under-performing assets linked to the housing market.By providing capital to companies at "trough valuations", Paulson believed it would enable the firms to survive the crisis while Paulson would profit from recovery by buying at the market bottom.