London
CNN Business
 — 

Former Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke, Douglas Diamond and Philip Dybvig were awarded the Nobel Prize in economics on Monday for their work on banks and financial crises.

The group was recognized by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for their work in the early 1980s, which the institute said provided the foundation for our modern understanding of why banks are needed, their chief vulnerabilities and how their collapse can fuel financial meltdowns.

Bernanke, who led the US central bank during the 2008 financial crisis, received the award for his research on the Great Depression. His work showed that bank runs were a decisive reason the crisis became so severe and entrenched.

— This is a developing story and will be updated.