Sentence:  Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic [...].  Until 2008 there was denial over what finance had become. When a series of bank <WSD>failures</WSD> made this impossible, there was widespread anger, leading to the public humiliation of symbolic figures. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Termination of the ability of an item to perform its required function; breakdown.