The panel created by Congress to investigate the causes of the financial crisis that devastated the capital markets in 2008 has issued its final report, concluding that the crisis was avoidable, with plenty of blame to go around.

Widespread failures in financial regulation, breakdowns in corporate governance, excessive borrowing and risk by households and Wall Street, ill-prepared policy makers, and systemic breaches in accountability and ethics were all among the causes, according to the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission.

“While the vulnerabilities that created the potential for crisis were years in the making, it was the collapse of the housing bubble—fueled by low interest rates, easy and available credit, scant regulation, and toxic mortgages—that was the spark that ignited a string of events, which led to a full-blown crisis in the fall of 2008,” the panel concluded. The final report, released Jan. 27, is endorsed only by the panel's six Democrats, highlighting the partisan bickering that threatens to overshadow its work. The four Republican commissioners, who dissented on the final version, issued their own conclusions back in December in a 9-page primer.

The FCIC, led by former California State Treasurer Phil Angelides, was created in 2009 by the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act. Its report, which spans nearly 600 pages, is based on the review of millions of pages of documents, more than 700 interviews and 19 days of public hearings.

The panel's Democrats had harsh words for regulators. “The captains of finance and the public stewards of our financial system ignored warnings and failed to question, understand, and manage evolving risks within a system essential to the well-being of the American public,” the report states. “Theirs was a big miss, not a stumble.” In addition, the groups cited collapsing mortgage-lending standards and the mortgage securitization pipeline, over-the-counter derivatives, and the failures of credit rating agencies as contributing significantly to the crisis. The government sponsored enterprises contributed to the crisis, but weren't a primary cause, according to the report.

In addition to the report and accompanying dissents, the panel plans to make other materials, including documents and emails, video of its public hearings, audio recordings, summaries and transcripts of interviews, testimony and supporting research, available on its Website.

The FCIC will conclude operations on Feb. 13. Its report is slated to be the subject of a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Feb, 16.

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